PRIME MINISTER

Canada

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Prime Minister what recent discussions he has had with the Canadian Prime Minister on (a) the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Colombo in November 2013 and (b) the role of the Commonwealth in promoting human rights.

David Cameron: I have spoken to the Prime Minister of Canada about the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Colombo on a number of occasions including when we met on 13 June, following his address to both Houses of Parliament. We have discussed the shared values of the Commonwealth and reaffirmed the importance we attach to the Commonwealth adhering to those core values. The UK firmly believes that the Commonwealth can continue to be a force for good around the world, promoting freedom, democracy and human rights. The meeting in Colombo will turn the spotlight on Sri Lanka. I will take a very tough message to the Sri Lankan Government: that they to make progress on human rights.

Ministers: Official Secrets

Julian Lewis: To ask the Prime Minister what mechanisms are in place to ensure that an individual whom it is proposed to appoint to sensitive ministerial positions is screened for reliability in the handling of classified information; and if he will make a statement.

David Cameron: Ministers are bound by the strict duties of confidentiality and propriety set out in the Ministerial Code, and are subject to the Official Secrets Act. They are briefed by security specialists within their Departments about how to handle sensitive information on appointment.

Sri Lanka

Douglas Alexander: To ask the Prime Minister when he last discussed (a) human rights in Sri Lanka and (b) the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission with Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa.

David Cameron: I have raised human rights in Sri Lanka and the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission with President Rajapaksa previously and will do so again during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The Government continues to regularly raise our concerns on human rights at both ministerial and official levels.

TRANSPORT

Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many invoices were processed by his Department in the last financial year for which figures are available.

Stephen Hammond: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 10 October 2013, Official Report, column 336W.

Blue Badge Scheme

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people previously in possession of a Blue Badge have been rejected since the introduction of the new guidelines set by his Department.

Robert Goodwill: I am unable to provide this figure. Accurate data could be provided only by individual local authorities, although it is unlikely that they would be able to distinguish whether a rejection was on the basis of revised guidance or the introduction of independent mobility assessors, which are both now in operation. The Government has not changed the underlying eligibility criteria but has sought to ensure that the statutory regulations are applied fairly so that badges go to those with the greatest difficulty in walking. The final decision on all applications rests with the local authority.

First Great Western

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what public subsidy has been paid to First Great Western Ltd for the Great Western passenger rail franchise in each year that this train operating company has held that contract;
	(2)  what public subsidy was paid to First Great Western Ltd for the Great Western passenger rail franchise in each year of that company’s previous contract.

Stephen Hammond: Details of the aggregate level of Government financial support to, and income from, the rail industry dating back to 1985-86, is published on the Office of Rail Regulation's (ORR) website at:
	http://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/
	In addition, detailed historic information on franchise payments and premiums in respect of individual train operating companies dating back to 1999-2000 is also available on the ORR's website.

First Great Western

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the estimated total value will be to (a) the public purse and (b) First Great Western Limited of the planned investment in (i) rolling stock on Thames Valley routes, (ii) capacity on the existing high speed train fleet and (iii) smart ticketing on the Great Western line between October 2013 and September 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: The announcement of 3 October 2013 said that the Department for Transport would work with First Great Western on these three matters "over the next two years". At this stage the value of these matters has not been estimated.

Great Western Railway Line

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what the cost was of negotiations between his Department and First Greater Western Limited on the extension to 20 September 2015 of the rail passenger service contract for the Great Western line; whether he expects further costs to arise; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether his Department employed external consultants to work on the negotiations with First Greater Western Limited for the extension to 20 September 2015 of the rail passenger service contract for the Great Western line; what the cost was in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: The franchise agreement entered into in respect of the period to September 2015 is a new agreement, not an extension of an existing agreement. The Department for Transport has employed legal, technical and financial advisers in connection with the negotiations of the new franchise agreement. To date, the cost for advisers is £475,265.00. The costs of departmental time have been met from the Department's existing budget.
	The negotiations were completed prior to the signing of the new franchise agreement.

Great Western Railway Line

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the comparative value to the public purse of awarding Directly Operated Railways the extension of the contract for rail passenger services on the Great Western line; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: No such assessment has been made. Directly Operated Railways (DOR) undertook the preparatory measures necessary to commence operation in the event that we were unable to conclude the negotiations successfully with the incumbent operator, and this included an assessment of resource requirement.

Great Western Railway Line

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the average increase in passenger rail fares on the Great Western line has been in each year since March 1998; and what comparative assessment he has made of such a change and that of (a) other operators of inter-city passenger services and (b) the national average in each such year.

Stephen Hammond: The Department does not hold information about the average increase in rail fares in each year.
	The Office of Rail Regulation ('ORR') publishes a rail fares price index which provides a measure of the change in the prices charged by train operating companies (TOCs) to rail passengers. This is available on ORR's website data portal
	http://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/
	ORR's fares index does not break down the figures by individual TOC but by sector. First Great Western and the other inter-city operators are included in Long-distance Operators.

Great Western Railway Line

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the punctuality score for passenger rail services on the Great Western main line has been in each year since 1997-98; and what comparative assessment he has made of such figures and that of (a) other operators of inter-city passenger services and (b) the national average in each such year.

Stephen Hammond: Details of the operational performance of each train operator are published on the Office of Rail Regulation's (ORR) website at
	http://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/
	The Secretary of State for Transport uses these statistics to inform his understanding of rail performance.
	The comparison of operational performance does not take into account the complications resulting from unique line-specific conditions.

Great Western Railway Line

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultation he has undertaken with (a) passenger groups and (b) trade unions over the content of the contract extension negotiated between his Department and First Greater Western Limited for passenger services on the Great Western line; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: A full consultation exercise was carried out in respect of the Great Western franchise competition, commencing with the publication of a consultation document on 22 December 2011. The Secretary of State for Transport said on 31 January 2013 when he announced the direct award to First Great Western that the aim was to
	“to ensure wherever possible that the benefits for passengers previously sought in new substantive franchise agreements are not delayed”.
	The public consultation garnered 1,144 responses, of which one was from a trade union.

Great Western Railway Line

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the increase in passenger revenue over the life of the contract extension to September 2015 agreed between his Department and First Greater Western Limited for rail passenger services on the Great Western line; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: The Franchise Agreement entered into in respect of the period to September 2015 is a new agreement, not an extension of an existing agreement. The estimated passenger revenue is commercially confidential.

Great Western Railway Line

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in which contractual circumstances his Department would activate contingency for further extension of the rail contract agreed with First Greater Western Limited for passenger services on the Great Western line; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: The EU legislation under which the new franchise agreement starting, on 13 October, was entered into does not permit that agreement to exceed two years. The agreement therefore does not contain provisions in relation to extension. The overall term of 33 months included in the franchising programme published on 26 March 2013 is planned to be achieved through the entering into of a second direct award franchise agreement.

Great Western Railway Line

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the value will be to (a) Network Rail and (b) First Greater Western Limited of the planned improvements to (i) on-train Wi-Fi coverage and (ii) stations on the Great Western line to be undertaken between October 2013 and September 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: The Department has secured a commitment with First Great Western to fit more trains with free wireless internet services. Priority for this upgrade given to long-distance trains, and we will continue to work with the operator to deliver improvements to services and stations through the life of the direct award; the exact details are yet to be finalised.

Great Western Railway Line

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what the value to First Greater Western Limited is of the contract extension agreed between his Department and that company for rail passenger services on the Great Western line; what steps he has taken to protect the public purse; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the estimated level of (a) public subsidy, (b) premium payments and (c) revenue support will be during the contract extension to September 2015 agreed between his Department and First Greater Western Limited for rail passenger services on the Great Western line; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what the value of the contract extension to September 2015 agreed between his Department and First Greater Western Limited for rail passenger services on the Great Western line is; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: The Office of Rail Regulation routinely publishes premium and subsidy payments in regards to each operator. These are published annually in arrears. Additionally, compensation to each Train Operating Company will be published annually by the Department for Transport as required by Regulation 1370/2007.

Great Western Railway Line

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether First Greater Western Limited will abide by existing collective bargaining agreements with recognised trade unions for the period covered by the contract extension for the Great Western line; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: Industrial relations are for First Great Western to manage. This is the case with all franchises.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the increase in capacity that will be created by the electrification of the Midland Main Line will be included in the next update of the economic case for the Y route of High Speed 2.

Robert Goodwill: The next update to the economic case for HS2 will accommodate a range of enhancements, including updates to our assumptions about the planned improvements to transport infrastructure in England and Wales included in the 'without-HS2' comparator.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent discussions he has had with officials in the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on the employment of workers on zero hours contracts in safety critical roles in the shipping industry.

Stephen Hammond: I have had no discussions with officials from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on the employment of workers on zero hours contracts in safety critical roles in the shipping industry.

Peel Holdings

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what grants and loans have been made by his Department and the bodies for which it is responsible to projects in which Peel Holdings is a significant beneficiary in each of the last five years.

Stephen Hammond: The requested data is not available. The Department records direct recipients of grants and loans which it makes, but does not maintain records of other parties involved in projects funded by these grants.

Public Transport

David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will commission an assessment of the hyperloop system as an alternative to high speed rail as a means of high speed transportation.

Robert Goodwill: The Government believes that high speed rail offers the most suitable approach to promoting economic growth and providing the long-term transport capacity our country needs. It utilises proven technologies, while untested systems, such as Hyperloop, risk delay to delivery and cost overruns.

Railways: Nottingham

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what forecasts his Department has made of journey times from Nottingham city centre to central London via High Speed 2 and an electrified Midland Main Line in 2033.

Robert Goodwill: The forecast journey time between Nottingham Midland to London Euston on HS2 is 1:08 hours, a saving of 36 minutes from the current times, as published in ‘High Speed Rail: Investing in Britain's Future—Consultation on the route from the West Midlands to Manchester, Leeds and beyond’, July 2013.
	The Department looks to Network Rail to determine a detailed journey time between Nottingham and London via an electrified Midland Mainline. Network Rail is funded to electrify the route by 2019 and is working with the rail industry to establish the benefits such as shorter journey times that can be incorporated.

Railways: Tickets

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much the Government's proposed trial of single leg ticketing will cost; and when he anticipates that the trial will begin.

Stephen Hammond: The details of the trial are still being decided, although we expect it to begin in the next financial year.
	The cost of the trial will depend upon a number of factors, such as the number of routes upon which single-leg pricing will be trialled, details of which will be decided in due course following further discussion with train operators.

Shipping: Training

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his Department's policy to collate information on the number of training roles for UK ratings in the previous year for inclusion in the annual Seafarer Statistics publication.

Stephen Hammond: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 14 October 2013, Official Report, column 535W.

Speed Limits

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on compulsory speed adapters.

Robert Goodwill: I have not had occasion to discuss speed adaptation with EU counterparts. There has been some preliminary discussion at official level of intelligent speed adaptation as part of the ongoing EU-wide dialogue on road safety issues.

HEALTH

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  under what circumstances abortions can be performed on the grounds that the foetus is female; what the form and timescale is of the investigation into reports of abortions being performed on the grounds that the foetus is female; whether that investigation will cover all abortion clinics in the UK; whether the relevant police forces and prosecuting authorities have been informed of those reports; whether doctors suspected of having falsified abortion referral forms or having performed abortions on the grounds that the foetus is female will be referred to the General Medical Council and the relevant police authorities; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what further steps he (a) has taken and (b) plans to take in each of the next 12 months regarding cases of sex-selection abortions; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what progress he has made with his Department's investigation of allegations that gender abortions are taking place in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: Both the Secretary of State for Health and the Attorney-General are of the view that termination of a pregnancy oh the grounds of gender alone is both illegal and grossly unethical. However, sex-linked inherited medical condition could be relevant to whether one of the lawful grounds under the Abortion Act is met. The Department has, and continue to, refer any doctors suspected of having acted unlawfully to the appropriate authorities to investigate.
	The Department has taken a number of steps regarding sex selection abortions. These include writing to the relevant police forces and requesting that all the allegations which appeared in February 2012 be investigated. A letter was also sent from the chief medical officer (CMO) on 23 February 2012 to all abortion services highlighting legal requirements under the Abortion Act 1967, including gender selection.
	In addition, at the request of the Council of Europe, we undertook a detailed analysis of births by gender from 2007 to 2011. The data were published in May this year and showed that the United Kingdom gender ratio is 105.1 male births to 100 female and is well within the normal boundaries for populations. When broken down by the mothers' country of birth, no group is statistically different from the range that we would expect to see naturally occurring.
	We now intend to issue further guidance. First there will be a further letter from the CMO and will cover sex selective abortions, pre-signing of abortion certification forms and the information that doctors need to make a decision in good faith. departmental officials will also be working closely with professional bodies, including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the British Medical Association and the General Medical Council, to discuss what further support and guidance clinicians might need.

Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health by what process members are appointed to the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation.

Daniel Poulter: The Department, NHS England and the chair of the committee regularly review the balance of expertise on the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation. As required, the Secretary of State for Health and NHS England invite individuals to take up an appointment.

Alcoholic Drinks and Drugs: Rehabilitation

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average cost per individual, per week is of NHS residential drug and alcohol detoxification units.

Jane Ellison: Information on the average cost of national health service residential drug and alcohol detoxification units is not collected centrally.
	The available cost figures for in-patient detoxification cover treatment provided by both the NHS and voluntary organisations. They are aggregated figures and it is therefore not possible to identify the cost of NHS treatment alone. The figures cover NHS general hospital psychiatric units and specialist drug misuse in-patient units in hospitals, as well as voluntary, sector residential settings.

Ambulance Services: North West

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with the North West Ambulance Service on response times.

Jane Ellison: No Ministers in the Department have held such discussions with the North West Ambulance Service.

Cancer: Staffordshire

Aidan Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in Staffordshire have received funding from the Cancer Drugs Fund in each of the last three years.

Jane Ellison: Information on the number of patients who have had cancer drugs funded by West Midlands strategic health authority (SHA) for the period October 2010 to end March 2013 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 West Midlands SHA 
			  Number 
			 Number of patients funded in 2010-11 292 
			 Number of patients funded in 2011-12 1,658 
			 Number of patients funded in 2012-13 1,534 
			 Total number of patients funded since October 2010(1) 3,484 
			 (1) Some individual patients may be double-counted where a patient has received more than one drug treatment through the Cancer Drugs Fund. Source. Information provided to the Department by SHAs. 
		
	
	Information on patients funded through the Cancer Drugs Fund is not collected at county level.
	NHS England took responsibility for the Fund from April 2013 and is collecting data on the use of the fund from four regional teams. We are advised that between 1 April and end of June 2013, 1,253 patients in the Midlands and East area were funded.

Dementia

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many emergency hospitals admissions in England were for patients with a diagnosis of dementia in each of the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: Data on a count of finished admission episodes where there was an emergency admission method and a primary or secondary diagnosis of dementia for the years 2007-08 to 2011-12, is shown in the following table.
	It should be noted that this is not a count of people as the same person may have been admitted on more than one occasion.
	
		
			 Count of finished admission episodes (FAEs)(1) where there was an emergency admission method(2) and a primary or secondary diagnosis(3) of dementia(4) for the years 2007-08 to 2011-12(5)—Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			  FAEs 
			 2007-08 133,373 
			 2008-09 154,920 
			 2009-10 177,622 
			 2010-11 202,628 
		
	
	
		
			 2011-12 219,064 
			 (1 )Finished admission episodes A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period. (2 )Admission method A code which identifies how the patient was admitted to hospital. 22—Emergency: via general practitioner (GP) 23—Emergency: via Bed Bureau, including the Central Bureau 24—Emergency: via consultant outpatient clinic 28—Emergency: other means, including patients who arrive via the accident and emergency department of another health care provider. (3 )Number of episodes with a main or secondary diagnosis The number of episodes where this diagnosis was recorded in any of the 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) primary and secondary diagnosis fields in a Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) record. Each episode is only counted once, even if the diagnosis is recorded in more than one diagnosis field of the record. (4 )ICD10 codes—Dementia F00.0 Dementia in Alzheimer's disease with early onset F00.1 Dementia in Alzheimer's disease with late onset F00.2 Dementia in Alzheimer's disease, atypical or mixed type F00.9 Dementia in Alzheimer's disease, unspecified F01.0 Vascular dementia of acute onset F01.1 Multi-infarct dementia F01.2 Subcortical vascular dementia F01.3 Mixed cortical and subcortical vascular dementia F01.8 Other vascular dementia F01.9 Vascular dementia, unspecified F02.0 Dementia in Pick's disease F02.1 Dementia in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease F02.2 Dementia in Huntington's disease F02.3 Dementia in Parkinson's disease F02.4 Dementia in human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] disease F02.8 Dementia in other specified diseases classified elsewhere F03.X Unspecified dementia F05.1 Delirium superimposed on dementia. (5 )Assessing growth through time (In-patients) HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, changes in activity may be due to changes in the provision of care. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre.

ICT

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) iPads and (b) iPhones have been purchased by (i) his Department and (ii) his Department's non-departmental public bodies in each of the last three years.

Daniel Poulter: Information about the number of iPads and iPhones procured by the Department and the Department's non-departmental public bodies for each of the last three years is available in the following table. There were no iPads or iPhones procured in previous years. The iPad was only launched in mid-2010 and the iPhone was not available for use within Government until more recently.
	
		
			  2011 2012 2013(1) 
			  iPad iPhone iPad iPhone iPad iPhone 
			 Department of Health 63 0 0 1 25 0 
			        
			 Non-departmental public bodies       
			 NHS England 0 0 100 220 190 1,591 
			 Monitor 0 0 14 0 40 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Human Tissue Authority 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence 0 0 0 0 9 1 
			 Care Quality Commission 15 0 41 0 50 0 
			 Health and Social Care Information Centre 0 1 0 727 12 42 
			 (1 )To date.

NHS England

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much NHS England has spent on public relations and communications staff since its inception.

Jane Ellison: NHS England advises that it has spent the following sums on public relations and communications staff since it was established as an executive non departmental public body in October 2012:
	
		
			 Financial year Type of staff Amount (£) 
			 2012-13 (from 1 October 2012) Central NHS England staff 253,963 
			 2013-14 (to 30 September 2013) Central NHS England staff 1,497,517 
			  Commissioning support unit staff 4,712,220

Public Health England

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which staff positions at Public Health England are currently unfilled.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England (PHE) is currently recruiting for 364 vacancies—for a whole-time equivalent (WTE) of 357.68.
	49 out of the 364 posts are medical and dental qualified staff or senior civil servant posts.
	The remaining 315 represent a cross-section of the PHE workforce as a whole: nurses, biomedical scientists, clinical scientists, laboratory staff, quality assurance staff, emergency planners, scientific and technical staff, epidemiologists, statisticians, corporate services staff (business managers, finance, information technology, procurement and human resource professionals) and data analysts.
	As a proportion of total PHE WTE percentage this represents 6.3%.

The Guardian

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on advertising with (a)The Guardian newspaper, (b)The Guardian website and (c)The Guardian Media Group in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11, (iii) 2011-12 and (iv) 2012-13.

Daniel Poulter: These figures represent advertising expenditure relating to public appointments and public health campaigns, and to other expenditure recorded by the Department's Business Management System. To provide fully comprehensive data could be done only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 £ 
			  Public appointments and public health campaigns(1) Department of Health Procurement Centre of Expertise(2) 
			 (a) The Guardian newspaper   
			 (i) 2009-10 0 0 
			 (ii) 2010-11 15,296 0 
			 (iii) 2011-12 16,000 0 
			 (iv) 2012-13 13,068 0 
			    
			 (b)The Guardian website   
			 (i) 2009-10 . 0 0 
			 (ii) 2010-11 0 0 
			 (iii) 2011-12 0 0 
			 (iv) 2012-13 (3)— 0 
			    
			 (c) The Guardian Media Group   
			 (i) 2009-10 0 15,295 
			 (ii) 2010-11 129,360 5,601 
			 (iii) 2011-12 256,554 0 
			 (iv) 2012-13 158,675 0 
			 (1 )Including VAT. (2) Excluding VAT. (3 )Costs included in (a)(iv).

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Bovine Tuberculosis

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what number and proportion of badgers killed in the current culling programme have been identified as carrying active bovine TB.

George Eustice: There were no plans to test badgers culled for infection with M. bovis. This was one of the elements investigated during the randomised badger culling trial, giving us evidence on the typical prevalence of TB in badgers in areas of high TB incidence, and has not been repeated during the pilots.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what recent estimate he has made of the costs relating to carry out post mortems on badgers; and how such costs will be funded following the recent extension granted in Somerset;
	(2)  what recent estimate he has made of the costs relating to humaneness monitoring; and how such costs will be funded following the recent extension granted in Somerset;
	(3)  what recent estimate he has made of the costs relating to sett monitoring of the badger culls; and how such costs will be funded following the recent extension granted in Somerset;
	(4)  what recent estimate he has made of the costs relating to licensing of the badger culls; and how such costs will be funded following the recent extension granted in Somerset;
	(5)  what recent estimate he has made of the cost of policing the badger culls; and how such costs will be funded following the recent extension granted for the badger cull trial in Somerset.

George Eustice: The 2011 Impact Assessment is the most recent estimate prepared on the cost of the pilots:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measures-to-address-bovine-tuberculosis-in-badgers-impact-assessment
	When the current badger control policy was published, we recognised the uncertainties around costs and benefits which provided an additional reason to proceed with two pilots initially. As planned, costs will be reviewed after the conclusion of the pilots when all the information is available.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what regard he gave to Section 10(c)(i) of his Department's guidance to Natural England on the licensing of killing or taking badgers for the purpose of preventing the spread of bovine TB when he extended the current cull of badgers.

George Eustice: As the designated licensing authority, it is for Natural England to consider and grant applications for badger control licences, having regard to the relevant Guidance provided by the Secretary of State.

Compost

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2013, Official Report, column 263W, on compost, when his Department intends to publish the findings of the study entitled, Monitoring bioaerosols and odour emissions from composting facilities.

Dan Rogerson: The findings of the Monitoring Bioaerosols and Odour Emissions from Composting Facilities project are due to be published later this month.

Rivers

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department has produced a standard set of criteria for identifying and classifying a waterway as a chalkstream; and if he will list all those chalkstreams it has identified as flowing in England.

Dan Rogerson: The UK Chalk Rivers Steering Group has identified 161 chalk rivers across England. A copy of this list will be placed in the House Library. The Group was chaired by the Environment Agency and comprised of Government and representatives of interested organisations.
	The Environment Agency has a standard set of criteria for identifying and classifying a chalk stream which was published in full in its ‘State of England's Chalk Streams Report’, 2004. The key characteristics are that the river is dominated by rain-fed groundwater percolating through chalk. The river water is normally very alkaline and relatively constant in temperature as a result of the water's underground journey through the chalk.
	A standard set of criteria for defining a chalk stream as a habitat, in terms of flora and fauna, is provided by the Habitats Directive, Annex 1, section 3260 in which chalk rivers are recognised as a priority habitat.

Rural Areas: Financial Services

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the availability of commercial loans to businesses and individuals operating in the rural economy; and if he will make a statement.

David Gauke: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Treasury.
	The Government is committed to improving the flow of credit to small businesses, and is taking action to help small businesses access the finance they need in order to grow.
	The funding for lending scheme has contributed to a transformation of the bank funding environment and banks are now passing this on to the real economy, including to small businesses, while the Business Bank and the Business Finance Partnership is developing the sources of non-bank finance available to smaller businesses.
	The Government is taking a number of other actions to support the rural economy, by improving competitiveness and skills, investing in rural tourism and supporting micro-enterprises. This includes investing £150 million to improve mobile coverage for up to 60,000 rural premises across the UK that currently cannot receive any signal; and establishing the five pilot rural growth networks (RGN) to tackle barriers to economic growth in rural areas, such as a shortage of work premises, slow internet connectivity and fragmented business networks.
	Decisions about whether to lend to specific individuals or businesses remain commercial decisions for banks and building societies.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Electric Cables

Tim Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when the Minister of State for Energy plans to respond to the joint signatories of a letter to him regarding overhead transmission lines, dated 18 July 2013.

Gregory Barker: The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Michael Fallon), replied to my hon. Friend and each of the other seven signatory MPs on 2 August 2013. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Electricity: Prices

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent comparative assessment he has made of electricity prices for industry in the UK and in other EU member states.

Edward Davey: I am aware that electricity prices for industry in the UK are higher than in some other EU member states. This is why the Government has put in place compensation for the indirect costs of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and, subject to state aid approval is introducing compensation for the cost of the Carbon Price Floor and an exemption for Energy Intensive Industries from the costs of Contract for Difference.

Energy Company Obligation

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of the Energy Company Obligation budget will be spent on homes classified as being in fuel poverty.

Gregory Barker: The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) sets in legislation a carbon and notional bill savings target for March 2015. The obligation is expected to cost participating suppliers around £1.3 billion per annum to deliver. Our impact assessment suggests some £540 million of this, or 42% of the total budget, will be spent through the Affordable Warmth and Carbon Saving Communities Obligation programmes. These elements of ECO are targeted at low income and vulnerable households and households living in low income areas. It is likely that some low income and vulnerable households will also receive assistance under ECO's main carbon obligation.
	It is not possible to develop accurate estimates of the number of fuel poor households receiving assistance under ECO overall, as specific households in fuel poverty change year on year. However, an energy efficiency scheme of this nature targeted at low income and vulnerable households can be expected to make a significant contribution to fuel poverty objectives. Delivery data shows that by the end of August, 244,882 energy efficiency and heating measures had been installed through ECO:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-energy-climate-change/series/green-deal-and-energy-company-obligation-eco-statistics
	This includes more than 167,000 measures under the Affordable Warmth and Carbon Saving Communities parts of ECO.

Energy: Billing

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to help households with their energy bills.

Edward Davey: I am taking many steps to help that come under three broad categories. First, direct help for millions of people, with money off their bills and money to help pay their bills—warm home discount, winter fuel payments, cold weather payments. Second, energy efficiency, to help people cut their bills by wasting less energy—the energy company obligation, the Green Deal, Smart Meters. Third, competition. I am intervening to make electricity and gas markets in the UK ever more competitive, so energy companies cannot exploit people through market power.

Energy: Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent representations he has received from the Scottish Government regarding (a) business and (b) household energy bills in Scotland.

Michael Fallon: DECC Ministers and officials have had a number of discussions with the Scottish Government about a range of energy issues.

Energy: Wales

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the average proportion of household expenditure on energy bills for households in North Wales in the latest period for which figures are available.

Gregory Barker: DECC does not hold data on household expenditure in Wales below national level.
	At the national level, the average proportion of household expenditure on energy bills in Wales was 5.4%, over the period from 2009 to 2011. In terms of pounds and pence, this is an average spend of £21.50 per household, per week.
	These figures include expenditure on electricity, gas and other household fuels, but exclude expenditure on petrol, and diesel. They are based on data from the Living Costs and Food Survey, which is run by the Office for National Statistics. Due to the small number of households in Wales within the survey each year, results are averaged across a three year period and cannot be produced for sub-regions of Wales.

Fuel Poverty

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he has taken to reduce fuel poverty this winter. [R]

Gregory Barker: This year the Green Deal and Energy Company Obligation have already transformed the homes of (174,000) low income and vulnerable households, cutting bills and keeping people warm.
	Additionally, this winter our Warm Home Discount scheme will pay out to 2 million households—including over 1 million of the poorest pensioners.
	This Government has also permanently increased cold weather payments to £25 per week. And all pensioners will receive the winter fuel payment.

Scotland

Margaret Curran: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he last met the Scottish Government's Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Tourism.

Gregory Barker: DECC Ministers have regular engagement with Ministers in the Scottish Government to discuss a range of issues. As has been the case with successive Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

TREASURY

Co-operative Bank

Graham Stringer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority about the provision of independent advice to retail investors in securities issued by the Co-operative Bank about the recapitalisation of that bank;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) about the suspension of interest payments to holders of Co-operative bank accounts; and if he will request that the FCA ensures that such investors receive independent advice from a competent firm on the proposed capital reconstruction.

David Gauke: The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) operate independently of Government.
	The Government has frequent discussions with both regulators, at ministerial and official level, about the full range of firms and across a range of issues. It would not be appropriate to comment on the details of discussions about individual firms.
	Martin Wheatley, chief executive of the FCA, wrote to Lord Myners on 13 August 2013 setting out the FCA's views. The letter was placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The letter noted the Co-op's announcement, on 12 July 2013, that the coupon on the 13% perpetual subordinated bonds (PSBs) scheduled for July 31 2013 would be deferred and paid at the time of the successful completion of the exchange offer.
	The letter also noted that Co-op's announcement of 17 June 2013, that it is
	‘considering the manner in which it can facilitate the provision of independent financial advice to retail holders at the Bank's cost.'
	The letter stated that the FCA is satisfied that the Co-operative Bank is progressing this work and will continue to engage with the firm on the issue as the exchange offer develops.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Graham Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether officials in his Department are monitoring the geographical allocation of mortgages arranged under the Help to Buy scheme.

David Gauke: The Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme is available throughout the UK. The scheme will support potential borrowers who can afford the repayments on a high LTV mortgage, but are unable to save up for the large deposits currently required in the aftermath of the financial crisis. The Government has made £12 billion of guarantees available, which is sufficient to support up to £130 billion of high loan-to-value mortgages across the UK.

Prudential Regulation Authority

Graham Stringer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy that the Prudential Regulation Authority issues warnings to bond markets about capital shortfalls in banks.

David Gauke: On June 20 2013, the PRA published the results of its assessment of the capital adequacy of eight major banks and building societies, including the level of capital shortfalls of each institution against the risk-weighted capital ratio based on the Basel III definition of at least 7%. The results are available on the Bank of England website:
	www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Documents/news/2013/pracaprec.pdf
	The PRA have informed all of the firms of their requirements and have produced PRA plans-to meet them, with the vast majority of these actions to be completed by end-2013.
	Under the Banking Consolidation Directive (BCD), the PRA is prohibited from publishing confidential regulatory data about individual firms. However, PRA rules made in accordance with the BCD and the Market Abuse Directive require firms themselves to disclose information about their capital position, as well as-other market-sensitive information, including information which could affect the pricing of their debt.

Public Sector: Pay

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the research report Pay Progression in the Public Sector August 2013 from Incomes Data Services;
	(2)  what his policy is towards pay progression in the public sector;
	(3)  what analysis of different pay progression models his Department has undertaken.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 16 October 2013
	The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that Departments will be putting in place plans to end automatic time-served progression pay in the civil service by 2015-16. In addition, substantial reforms to progression pay will be taken forward or are already under way for other parts of the public sector.
	In providing advice on pay reform, the Treasury continues to take into account a range of evidence and information, including information about existing pay systems in place in public sector workforces and the civil service.

Public Sector: Pensions

Dominic Raab: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much of total net public service pension expenditure was spent on final salary-defined benefit pensions in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13.

Danny Alexander: In unfunded public service schemes there is no investment pot into which member and employer contributions are paid, instead, pensioners' benefits are treated as if they were financed from the contributions of current members and employers with any shortfall being met by the Exchequer
	Table 2.18 of the Supplementary Fiscal Tables to the Office for Budget Responsibility's (OBR) March 2013 Economic and Fiscal Outlook provides figures for Exchequer—or 'net'—expenditure on the unfunded public service pension schemes in 2011-12 and 2012-13. The schemes covered are final salary defined benefit schemes, with the exception of the Nuvos section of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme, and the GP section of the NHS Pension Scheme, both of which are career average defined benefit pension schemes. These schemes are administered, by the Cabinet Office and Department for Health respectively, and HM Treasury does not hold the information required to determine from the OBR figures the split in Exchequer expenditure between final salary and career average public service pension schemes.

The Guardian

Julian Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on advertising with (a)The Guardian newspaper, (b)The Guardian website and (c)The Guardian Media Group in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11, (iii) 2011-12 and (iv) 2012-13.

Nicky Morgan: The Treasury have advertised on The Guardian's website including:
	www.jobs.guardian.co.uk
	and The Guardian newspaper. However, as this is arranged via the Treasury's advertising agency TMP, any detailed information on spend broken down by separate media is not held centrally by the Department and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

HOME DEPARTMENT

EU Justice and Home Affairs

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what the cost to UK public funds has been in each of the last five years of complying with Joint Action 97/339/JHA;
	(2)  with which EU member states the UK does not have bilateral or multilateral agreements on matters covered by Joint Action 97/339/JHA; and whether the UK would seek to establish such agreements with these member states upon opting out of this measure.

James Brokenshire: Police forces in the UK use other more practical bilateral and multilateral agreements for sharing information with all other member states.
	As the UK has opted out of this measure, from 1 December 2014 the UK will have the power to change our practice in line with the needs of law enforcement. At this moment the UK has no plans to change policy or practice and will fall back on other practical agreements without impacting cooperation.
	There have been no costs to UK public funds over the last five years for complying with this Joint Action.

EU Justice and Home Affairs

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the importance of Joint Action 96/610/JHA in counter-terrorism co-operation between the UK and other EU member states;
	(2)  how many times UK authorities have made use of the directory under Joint Action 96/610/JHA in each of the last five years;
	(3)  what the cost to the UK public funds has been of complying with Joint Action 96/610/JHA in each of the last five years.

James Brokenshire: To the best of our knowledge, Joint Action 96/610/JHA has not been used by UK authorities and there are no costs associated with complying with this measure.
	As the UK has opted out of this measure, from 1 December 2014 the UK will have the power to change our practice in line with the needs of law enforcement.

EU Justice and Home Affairs

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what alternative arrangements, if any, will be required to enable the transmission of controlled substances upon opting out of Council Decision 2001/419/JHA; what her policy is on putting in place such alternative arrangements and whether they should differ from the provisions of the Council Decision; and what assessment she has made of whether these arrangements would be put in place;
	(2)  what the cost to the UK public funds has been of transmissions carried out under Council Decision 2001/419/ JHA in the last year; and what the purpose was of each of these transmissions.

James Brokenshire: There have been four transmissions carried out in the last year in accordance with the procedures set out in Council Decision 2001/419/JHA. Two of these related to amphetamine samples for EU profiling projects and two related to the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI) Drugs Working Group Proficiency Testing. These exchanges could have happened lawfully without this instrument and alternative arrangements will not be required upon opting out.
	Information on costs of these transmissions is not collected centrally.
	As the UK has opted out of this measure, from 1 December 2014 the UK will have the power to change our legislation on this matter in our Parliament. At this moment the UK has no plans to change operational practices but the UK will have the power to do so if required.

EU Justice and Home Affairs

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  whether co-operation which is undertaken under the provisions of Joint Action 98/699/JHA will be maintained following a UK opt out from that Joint Action; and what the cost has been to UK public funds in each of the last five years of this co-operation;
	(2)  whether the UK complies with the obligations relating to judicial training under Joint Action 98/699/JHA;
	(3)  what assessment she has made of the cost of producing and maintaining the guide required by Joint Action 98/699/JHA.

James Brokenshire: Currently co-operation with other member states to identify, freeze or confiscate assets is principally based on the 1990 Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime, not on Joint Action 98/699/JHA. As part of the 2014 Decision the UK intends to rejoin Council Framework Decision 2006/783/JHA of 6 October 2006 on the application of the principle of mutual recognition to confiscation orders and Council Framework Decision 2003/577/JHA of 22 July 2003 on the execution in the European Union of orders freezing property or evidence and these measures will also provide a basis for future co-operation in this field.
	Judicial training is a matter for the judiciary but the Government is satisfied that the UK meets the obligations as set out in Article 6 of Joint Action 98/699/JHA.
	The UK Central Authority, based in the Home Office, maintains guidance relating to all elements of mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, including those covered by Article 2 of Joint Action 98/699/JHA. This can be found on the European Judicial Network website and at:
	www.gov.uk/mutual-legal-assistance-mla-requests
	The costs of maintaining this guidance are met from the overall Home Office budget and are nominal.
	As the UK has opted out of this measure, from 1 December 2014 the UK will reclaim the power to change our legislation on this matter in our Parliament. At this moment the UK has no plans to change operational practices but the UK will have the power to do so if required.

EU Justice and Home Affairs

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether existing policy and practice in matters covered by Joint Action 97/372/JHA, including co-operation with other member states, will alter as a result of the UK opting out of the Joint Action.

James Brokenshire: The UK has not used Joint Action 97/372/JHA to share intelligence or information for joint customs operations and relies on the provisions of the Naples II Convention. Opting out of this measure will not impact on our existing policy and practice in this area, including co-operation with other member states.

EU Justice and Home Affairs

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what the cost to UK public funds has been in each of the last five years of co-operation with other member states undertaken under the provisions of Joint Action 96/750/JHA;
	(2)  whether existing policy and practice in matters covered by Joint Action 96/750/JHA, including co-operation with other member states, will alter as a result of the UK opting out of this measure;
	(3)  what steps the UK has taken to assure the EU that the UK is compliant with Joint Action 96/750/JHA;
	(4)  what UK legislative or operational measures, if any, would be necessary to satisfy the requirements of Joint Action 96/750/JHA that do not accord with existing policy or practice;
	(5)  which provisions of Joint Action 96/750/JHA do not accord with existing UK policy or practice.

James Brokenshire: The EU Council Joint Action 96/750/JHA concerns the approximation of the laws and practices of the member states of the European Union to combat drug addiction and to prevent and combat illegal drug trafficking.
	The UK Government has worked at a practical level with international partners to tackle the threats from drug trafficking for many years. The Government is confident that it complies with all the obligations set out in this measure through other mechanisms.
	The information requested on the cost to UK public funds associated with co-operation with other member states is not held centrally.
	As the UK has opted out of this measure, from 1 December 2014 the UK will have the power to change our legislation on this matter in our Parliament. At this moment the UK has no plans to change existing policy or operational practices but the UK will have the power to do so if required.

EU Justice and Home Affairs

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  through what means, if any, the information currently exchanged through Joint Action 96/699/JHA will be exchanged with other member states assuming that the UK ceases to be bound by this Joint Action;
	(2)  how many prosecutions have been facilitated in the UK through Joint Action 96/699/JHA;
	(3)  how frequently information exchange involving the UK is conducted on the basis of Joint Action 96/699/JHA; and what the cost has been to UK public funds in each of the last five years of such information exchange.

James Brokenshire: The information requested on frequency and cost of transmission of information on the chemical profiling of drugs or related prosecutions is not collected centrally in the UK.
	The EU Council Joint Action 96/699/JHA concerns the exchange of information on the chemical profiling of drugs to facilitate improved cooperation between member states in combating illicit drug trafficking.
	The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) transmitted this data on behalf of the UK forensic science laboratories and the National Crime Agency (NCA) will now undertake this function. The UK will continue to exchange forensic drug information with other member states and EU partners through a variety of other means including direct to law enforcement, by forensic providers and through other networks, such as the European Drug Profiling System and Europol analysis work files.
	As the UK has opted out of this measure, from 1 December 2014 the UK will reclaim the power to change operational practices and policy. At this moment the UK has no plans to change existing policy or operational practices but the UK will have the power to do so if required.

EU Justice and Home Affairs

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Government intends to retain unchanged the provisions of UK law and practice required by Council Framework Decision 2002/474/JHA, as amended, assuming that the UK ceases to be bound by the Framework Decision under Article 10 of the Protocol on Transitional Provisions annexed to the EU treaties.

James Brokenshire: No record of Council Framework Decision 2002/474/JHA can be found and this is not a measure subject to the UK's 2014 Opt-out decision. Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA on combating terrorism was amended by Council Framework Decision 2008/919/JHA. It is assumed that your question relates to these measures.
	The UK goes further than the requirements of Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA in most respects. There are no plans to amend UK legislation which is compliant with this measure and domestic practices will not be altered as a result of the UK's decision to opt out.

EU Justice and Home Affairs

Jacob Rees-Mogg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the information exchange between the UK and EU bodies that occurs under Council Decision 2005/387/JHA will continue if the UK opts out of that Decision; and what the cost to UK public funds has been in each of the last five years of such information exchange.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 15 October 2013
	The UK Government has worked at a practical level with international partners on drugs issues for many years. Co-operation and information exchange with other member states and EU bodies will not change as a result of opting out of this measure. The marginal costs associated with the UK’s participation in the information exchange mechanism are subsumed within the existing responsibilities of the UK National Focal Point on drugs based at Public Health England the UK’s Europol National Unit.
	As the UK has opted out of this measure, from 1 December 2014 the UK will have the power to change operational practices and policy. At this moment the UK has no plans to do so.

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will make it her policy that non-warranted holders of the position of HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary should not wear ceremonial uniform while conducting their duties; and if she will make a statement.

Damian Green: holding answer 16 October 2013
	The HM chief inspector of constabulary (HMCIC) and HM inspectors do not hold warrants. It is for the HMCIC to decide the public engagements at which they wear the uniform to which they are entitled.

Ministers

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which Ministers in her Department have (a) responsibility for and (b) access to classified information in connection with the Security Service; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The Secretary of State for the Home Department has responsibility for the Security Service and is accountable to Parliament, and to the public, for the work they do.
	Government Ministers may have access to classified information where it is necessary and relevant to their ministerial responsibilities.

Police: Training

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the effect of the introduction of compulsory paid-for Certificate in Knowledge of Policing courses as a requirement for applying to become a police officer on (a) the demographic composition of police forces and (b) how representative police forces are of the communities they serve;
	(2)  which police forces offer bursaries or other financial assistance to pay fees for Certificate in Knowledge of Policing courses to applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds;
	(3)  which police forces require potential applicants for police officer roles to have completed a Certificate in Knowledge of Policing prior to application.

Damian Green: The Certificate in Knowledge of Policing is not a requirement for entry in to any force. It is one of a number of routes and is designed to increase access and inclusion and to build the profession of policing. The College of Policing is monitoring take up of the new qualification, including the demographic data of candidates. It is too early to give an informed response of its effect as the certificate is in its infancy and recruitment in forces outside Metropolitan Police Service is low.
	No forces have established bursary schemes for students undertaking the Pre-Join programmes but a number are considering doing so.

Young Offenders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what proportion of children aged 17 and under who were detained overnight in police cells in each of the last three years were subsequently charged with a criminal offence;
	(2)  what the (a) offence type, (b) gender and (c) reason for detention was of each child aged 17 and under who was detained overnight in police cells in each of the last three years.

Damian Green: The requested information is not available from data collected centrally by the Home Office.

Electronic Surveillance

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the cost of reprogramming equipment and other security changes made at GCHQ and other establishments as a direct consequence of the recent actions of Edward Snowden.

Hugh Robertson: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Foreign and Commonwealth affairs.
	It is the long-standing policy of successive governments not to comment in detail on matters of intelligence.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Electronic Surveillance

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what has been the cost of reprogramming equipment and other security changes at intelligence gathering establishments as a direct consequence of the recent actions of Edward Snowden;

Hugh Robertson: It is the long-standing policy of successive governments not to comment in detail on matters of intelligence.

Iran

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of Iran's support for Hamas.

Hugh Robertson: We continue to have serious concerns about Iran's support for terrorist groups, including Hezbollah's military wing and Hamas. Iran provides the military wing of Hezbollah with significant financial resources, military equipment, and training. Iranian support for Hamas reportedly continues, although at a lower level since Hamas decided not to support the Syrian regime. Iran's support to such groups is unacceptable, is in direct contravention of UN Security Council Resolution 1747, and undermines prospects for peace and stability in the Middle East.

Iran

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of Iran's relationship with Hezbollah.

Hugh Robertson: We continue to have serious concerns about Iran's support for terrorist groups, including Hezbollah's military wing and Hamas. Iran provides the military wing of Hezbollah with significant financial resources, military equipment, and training. Iranian support for Hamas reportedly continues, although at a lower level since Hamas decided not to support the Syrian regime. Iran's support to such groups is unacceptable, is in direct contravention of UN Security Council Resolution 1747, and undermines prospects for peace and stability in the middle east.

Iran

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to enforce economic sanctions against Iran.

Hugh Robertson: The EU has imposed a comprehensive set of economic sanctions against Iran, which are detailed in a series of EU Regulations. Member states are required to apply penalties for infringement of the Regulations. The UK has statutory instruments which set out these penalties.

Iran

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of reports that Iran is producing plutonium at its Arak facility.

Hugh Robertson: I am not aware of such reports. Although Iran continues construction of a Heavy Water Research Reactor at Arak—in contravention of its UN Security Council obligations—the IAEA's August report made clear the facility is not yet operational. If it becomes operational, this reactor could produce Plutonium that could be reprocessed for use in a future nuclear device.

Kieron Bryan

Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when British consular officials in Russia have visited Kieron Bryan since his detention on 19 September 2013; how long each such visit lasted; and when the next such visit will take place.

David Lidington: British consular officials visited Kieron Bryan on 24 September and again on 3, 9 and 11 October. During each visit, which varied in length, they were able to discuss welfare issues with Mr Bryan and follow up on these with the relevant Russian authorities, as well as pass messages to and from family members. Consular officials intend to visit Mr Bryan again later this week.

Religious Freedom

Angie Bray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will develop a strategy to prevent attacks on individuals throughout the world where the primary cause is due to the individual's atheism, humanism or lack of religious belief.

David Lidington: Freedom of religion or belief is one of the Government's international human rights priorities. Protecting the rights of atheists, humanists and the non-religious is an important component of this. We condemn all instances of violence and discrimination against individuals motivated by their religion or belief, regardless of the country, faith or belief concerned.
	We have a strategy to strengthen our promotion of the right to freedom of religion or belief through bilateral work with affected countries, using multilateral institutions, and through targeted programme and project funding, including internal capacity-building initiatives. We are currently reviewing the effectiveness of our strategy. This review is taking into account the reports of International Humanist Ethical Union and the particular threats faced by atheists, humanists and the non-religious identified by the British Humanist Association.

Russia

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of whether any of its new ballistic missile systems have put Russia in breach of the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: The 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty is a bilateral treaty between the USA and the former Soviet Union, and any determination of whether or not it has been breached is a matter for the parties. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not made an assessment on whether Russia is in breach of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty.

Sri Lanka

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had regarding the UK’s attendance at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka in November 2013.

Hugo Swire: The UK is attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) because we believe it is the right thing to do for the Commonwealth. We will take a very tough message to the Sri Lankan Government: that they need to make concrete progress on human rights, reconciliation and political settlement, and that we expect unrestricted access for media and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) attending CHOGM. As Minister for the Commonwealth, I have discussed CHOGM with a wide range of interlocutors recently, including with hon. and hon. Members, the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Ministers from other Commonwealth governments, and the high commissioner for Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Sri Lankan Government regarding full implementation of the recommendations of the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission; and what assessment he has made of progress by the Sri Lankan government on implementation.

Hugo Swire: We regularly raise the importance of the Sri Lankan Government making concrete progress on the implementation of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission recommendations at both ministerial and official level. This was raised most recently by the UK's high commissioner to Sri Lanka, at ministerial level this week. In September, the former Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt), also outlined to the Sri Lankan high commissioner in London the importance that the UK attaches to the Sri Lankan Government making progress against commitments made to the Sri Lankan people. I also made this point in my statement at UNGA to other Commonwealth Foreign Minister's during CFAMM.
	We have been clear that there has been some progress in areas such as demining, internally displaced persons (IDP) and resettlement and infrastructure development. However, much more work is needed to achieve reconciliation in Sri Lanka. As the Deputy Prime Minister stated on 15 May, too many Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) recommendations have not yet been implemented.
	The UK co-sponsored the Sri Lanka resolution passed in the Human Rights Council in March, and we welcome its adoption with the support of a majority of Council members. We look to the Sri Lankan Government to implement the recommendations contained in the resolution, including the implementation of LLRC recommendations, and to comply with their obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law.

Sri Lanka

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what conditions his Department set in relation to human rights in Sri Lanka before confirming the attendance of the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo in November 2013.

Hugo Swire: The Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka as the Commonwealth is too important to be set aside because of the location of CHOGM. However, we have been very clear that the CHOGM host should demonstrably embody our shared Commonwealth values. We believe that the attendance of many world leaders and the global media will help to shine a light on what is going on the country, either highlighting progress made or drawing attention to a lack of it.
	We continue to urge Sri Lanka to make progress on human rights concerns and on the implementation of Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) recommendations, which Sri Lanka set up in 2010, and to allow unrestricted freedom of movement for Commonwealth Heads, media and non-governmental organisations attending CHOGM in November. We will support and welcome tangible signs of progress. Equally, we will not hesitate to highlight negative developments or lack of progress against commitments.

Sri Lanka

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assurances he has received from the Sri Lankan government regarding (a) media freedom and (b) access for non-governmental organisations during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo in November 2013.

Hugo Swire: We welcome the Sri Lankan Government's public assurances confirming their commitment to provide full media access to journalists at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. While the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised this with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Peiris recently in New York, we are concerned about recent statements to the contrary from some representatives of the Sri Lankan Government. The UK Government believes it vital that the media is able to travel to Sri Lanka and to report freely. We will continue to press the Sri Lankan government to honour their public assurances.
	Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have an important role to play during CHOGM including through attending events such as the Peoples' Forum. The UK Government believes it is important that the Sri Lankan Government ensures NGOs are able to participate in CHOGM and travel freely during the event.

Sri Lanka

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assurances he has received from the Sri Lankan government about the safety and rights of human rights defenders, journalists and lawyers meeting international visitors during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo in November 2013.

Hugo Swire: The British Government has repeatedly sought and received assurances at all levels from the Government of Sri Lanka that journalists and non-governmental organisations will be allowed free access to Sri Lanka during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. We have urged the Government of Sri Lanka to take decisive action to guarantee freedom of expression by investigating infringements of human rights and ensuring those responsible are brought to justice.
	We continue to have concerns about human rights in Sri Lanka, including on freedom of expression. We welcomed the oral update of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), Navi Pillay, to the 24(th) session of the UN Human Rights Council following her visit to Sri Lanka in August. The update noted that Ms Pillay had received complaints about the continuing high levels of harassment and intimidation meted out to human rights defenders, lawyers and journalists and outlined concern that people who had been in contact with the UNHCHR were subsequently questioned about the content of their conversation.

Sri Lanka

Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Sri Lankan government regarding the (a) military presence in the north of that country, (b) acquisition of private land by the Sri Lankan military and (c) role of the military in (i) education, (ii) tourism and (iii) agriculture in Sri Lanka.

Hugo Swire: Officials at our high commission regularly raise with the Sri Lankan Government the issue of the military presence in the north of the country. Though military drawback is evident in some areas, we are concerned at military involvement in commercial and other civil activities, such as education, tourism, and agriculture, and the occupation of land in high security zones. We have raised this issue at both ministerial and official level with members of the Sri Lankan Government, and will continue to press .the need for the military not to partake in civil activities.
	Land rights are challenging in most post conflict situations involving internally displaced people or refugees. In Sri Lanka, multiple displacements of different groups and individuals have occurred over many years resulting in competing claims on the same land. Our most recent Human Rights Report update states that there are also increased reports of land takeovers in Tamil areas. However, we understand that the Sri Lankan Government have recently given assurances that the military would return some private land in the north within the next three months. Our high commission in Colombo has raised with the Government of Sri Lanka the need to resolve land disputes through a fair and accountable process.

Sri Lanka

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Sri Lankan counterpart following the demonstrations in Weliweriya in August 2013; and what representations he has made in support of an independent investigation into the protestors' deaths and the army's conduct during those demonstrations.

Hugo Swire: We understand that investigations by the police and the National Human Rights Commission are continuing into the deaths which followed the violent disruption of peaceful protests by Sri Lankan security forces in Weliweriya. My hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt), the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, noted our serious concern about the deaths in a statement on 6 August. He urged the Sri Lankan authorities to conduct a swift and transparent investigation into the shootings and ensure the right to peaceful protests is protected.
	The European Union Delegation also issued a statement in agreement with the EU Heads of Mission in Sri Lanka. It noted that the right to freedom of peaceful assembly is fundamental to democratic societies and should be protected by the state, and looked to the Sri Lankan authorities to ensure justice through speedy, impartial investigations and to enable all Sri Lankans to exercise their human rights freely.
	Officials at our high commission in Colombo have raised these concerns with members of the Sri Lankan Government. It is important that the Sri Lankan authorities conduct transparent investigations into all human rights abuses, ensuring the perpetrators are brought to justice.

Sri Lanka

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which individuals and organisations from the UK will attend the (a) business summit, (b) youth summit and (c) civil society summit at the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Colombo.

Hugo Swire: Individuals and organisations from the UK taking part in the Commonwealth Business Forum, Commonwealth People's Forum and Commonwealth Youth Forum in the margins of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting are required to register with each event's organiser. We do not hold a comprehensive list of participants. The Government has yet to finalise its plans for attendance.

Sri Lanka

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights following her visit to Sri Lanka on sexual harassment and abuse in that country; and if he has discussed his Department's Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative with his Sri Lankan counterpart.

Hugo Swire: The Government welcomed the oral update from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) to the 24th session of the UN Human Rights Council following her visit to Sri Lanka in August, and share many of her concerns. This update outlined her concern on the vulnerability of women and girls to sexual harassment and abuse, including at the hands of military personnel in Sri Lanka. We look forward with interest to the submission of the full written report during the March 2014 session of the UN Human Rights Council.
	We continue to be concerned at reports of a culture of impunity for rape and sexual violence and the lack of support for victims in Sri Lanka. Tackling sexual violence is central to conflict prevention and peace-building worldwide, as recognised in the Preventing Sexual Violence initiative (PSVI) by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague). My hon. Friend the Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt), the former Parliamentary-Under-Secretary of State, raised the PSVI declaration in his meeting with the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister in the margins of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 25 September. We have encouraged Sri Lanka to endorse the Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, launched by the Foreign Secretary on 24 September, and we will continue to do so when opportunities arise.

Sri Lanka

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Prime Minister about UK Government attendance at the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Hugo Swire: The Prime Minister and I are in regular contact about the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. We will continue to work closely together in the run-up to the meeting.

Sudan

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of reports of violence in Khartoum; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Simmonds: As I made clear in my statement of 30 September, I was shocked and saddened by reports of Sudanese security forces' use of excessive force against protesters in Khartoum and other Sudanese cities. These events demonstrate the importance of all parties in Sudan engaging in a meaningful comprehensive national dialogue to build a more prosperous, stable and peaceful Sudan. The UK is committed to helping Sudan work towards this vision.

Tamils

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many meetings Ministers in his Department have held with representatives of (a) the British Tamil Forum and (b) the Global Tamil Forum since 2012.

Hugo Swire: Ministers in my Department have held three meetings at which British Tamils Forum representatives were present since 2012. Two of these meetings included wider Tamil community or All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils attendees.
	No ministerial meetings have been held with the Global Tamil Forum leadership since 2012. However, members of the British Tamils Forum automatically hold membership of the Global Tamil Forum. A Foreign Office Minister delivered a speech at the third anniversary conference of the Global Tamil Forum in Parliament in February 2013.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Burma

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what policy objectives her Department aims to achieve by supporting Myanmar’s forthcoming census.

Alan Duncan: A census is an essential tool that enables effective government. DFID judges it sensible to support Burma's census including to advise on the content of the questions. This will help ensure it provides the most accurate and useful data possible to inform development policy.

Coltan

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what practical steps the Government plans to take to make the trade in coltan conflict-free.

Lynne Featherstone: Through DFID's Extractive Programme (ProMines) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) we are funding a study on certification arid traceability systems in Eastern DRC with a view to supporting the scaling-up of conflict-free initiatives in a cost-effective way. The same programme is also supporting the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region mineral certification process.
	At the international level, the UK Government is working closely with several initiatives to break the links between minerals and conflict in Eastern DRC.

Developing Countries: Taxation

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to provide assistance to developing countries to increase the effectiveness of their tax authorities; and what steps it is taking to help such countries increase their capacity to utilise tax data shared as a result of the agreement at the G8 summit in June 2013.

Justine Greening: Leaders at the G8 summit June 2013 agreed to support developing countries' efforts to collect the taxes owed to them. The Government has already set up the Developing Countries Capacity Building Unit, which I announced in March 2013. This is based in Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and funded by DFID to support developing countries' tax authorities.
	In September 2013, the G20 asked the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Global Forum to produce a roadmap showing how developing countries can overcome obstacles to participating in the new standard of automatic exchange of information agreed at G8 summit.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Discounts

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which companies offer what discounts under the Defence Discount Service.

Anna Soubry: holding answer 11 September 2013
	The Defence Discount Service, managed for the Ministry of Defence by Blue Light Card Services, offers a very wide range of discounts from leading high street and online retailers. These include Vodafone, KFC, Vue Cinemas and a number of major supermarkets, clothing stores and technology companies. Discounts are available on, among other things, cars, lap-tops, supermarket shopping, holidays and mobile phones.
	The full range of discounts is accessible to members of the scheme, which is open to regular and reserve members of the armed forces, veterans, service family members, Ministry of Defence civil servants, cadet forces (over 16 years of age) and NATO personnel serving in the UK.
	The right hon. Member will appreciate that to publish a full list of the companies participating, which now numbers over 1,000, and the discounts they offer, could impact on the commercial interests of those companies and their willingness to continue participating. We also owe a duty of confidence to the contractor we hired to draw up the list and obtain the discounts. The scheme operates as a 'closed-group' website and the information requested is therefore not in the public domain.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many sexual violence perpetrator programmes are available to (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army and (c) Royal Air Force personnel; where each such programme is made available; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many places are available on his Department's domestic violence perpetrator programmes; what the length is of each such programme; how many participants failed to conclude each of the programmes in the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: The tri-Service Military Corrective Training Centre (MCTC) in Colchester has a range of offender programmes designed to address detainees’ offender attitudes, thinking and behaviour. These include the newly introduced Domestic Abuse programme delivered by Essex Probation Services. The MCTC does not provide specific sex offender treatment programmes, primarily because detainees generally serve short sentences and are not sentenced for offences which would warrant this type of intervention.
	When a service person based in the UK is ordered by a civil court to attend a rehabilitation programme, commanding officers will ensure that the individual is not prevented through their military duties from complying with the order. Any serious impact on the military duties of the individual which result from such an order being imposed is considered during the service’s administrative process that follows court proceedings, and an employment decision is made accordingly. Where appropriate, the service police and welfare services will liaise with Home Office police forces and the Probation Service to assist in the offender management process.
	Domestic violence offender programmes have been offered to British forces in Germany since November 2008. It is taking time to collate the details and I will write to the hon. Member shortly.
	Substantive answer from Anna Soubry to Madeleine Moon:
	In my predecessor's (Mark Francois) response to you on 8 October (Official Report, column 27W) he promised to write on perpetrator programmes in the UK. I am now in a position to respond fully.
	From November 2008 British Forces in Germany (BFG) were able to draw on a voluntary one-to-one programme for domestic violence offenders, known as the Individual Domestic Abuse Module (IDAM). This programme, which was offered by the BFG Probation Service, consisted of 16 one-hour sessions. Between November 2008 and June 2011, IDAM received 34 referrals. Of these 34 referrals, 10 were assessed as suitable candidates and five completed the full programme.
	During Financial Year (FY) 2011-12, the Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Programme (Managed Intervention Domestic Abuse Service (MIDAS)) was developed. It was then implemented across the BFG area during FY 2012-13 by Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen Families Association on a contractual basis. MIDAS is a voluntary one-to-one modular offender management programme which is run over a 12-16 week period. In FY 2012-13 MIDAS received a total of six referrals, and of these five candidates completed the full programme. So far in FY 2013-14, MIDAS has received two referrals, and of these one has completed the programme and one is in progress.

Armed Forces: Sexual Offences

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide details of the numbers of reported instances of rape and sexual crimes against military personnel by other military personnel in the armed forces for each year since 2010.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence takes allegations of sexual offences very seriously. The following table shows the information readily available in respect of investigations of rape by military personnel against other military personnel for each year between 2010 and 2012. It relates to cases where the Service Police have jurisdiction and the investigative lead.
	
		
			  Reported Rape Investigations 
			 2010 7 
			 2011 13 
			 2012 15 
		
	
	For allegations in respect of sexual assault and assault by penetration, I refer the hon. Member to the answers given by my predecessor on 10 April 2013, Official Report, columns 1126-1127W, and 25 April 2013, Official Report, columns 1252-I253W, to the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mrs Moon), which relates to allegations that have been made by serving members of the armed forces.

Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many invoices were processed by his Department in the last financial year for which figures are available.

Anna Soubry: In financial year 2012-13, the Ministry of Defence processed 4,048,336 invoices through the defence bills system.

Data Protection

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the nature was of each of his Department's loss of personal data incidents in 2012-13.

Anna Soubry: holding answer 10 September 2013
	The number and type of personal data incidents reported in financial year 2012-13 are contained in the following table. These figures include both confirmed and potential losses. Potential losses are incidents where evidence from the investigation indicates that an accounting error has taken place (for example, a failure to properly record a document's destruction), rather than a genuine loss. Even where documents are simply recorded as lost, investigations into the incidents indicate that in the majority of cases there is no evidence that the documents are not within Ministry of Defence premises.
	
		
			 Nature of Data Number Lost or Potentially Lost 
			 Contact information 51 
			 Personnel information 3 
			 Travel details 1 
			 Sensitive, including family, finance and medical 17 
			 Private correspondence 1 
			 Photograph and identifying information 1 
			 Total 74

Defence: Scotland

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what (a) consultation and (b) meetings Ministers and officials in his Department have had with the Scottish Government regarding the production of its forthcoming White Paper on defence policy.

Andrew Murrison: None. Engagement with the Scottish Government on issues where the reserved matter of defence touches devolved matters continue as normal and is not affected by the independence referendum or the debate around it.

Military Exercises

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  which Royal Navy vessels were to be deployed for the cancelled Exercise Djibouti Lion;
	(2)  how many Royal Marines personnel, by unit were involved in the cancelled Exercise Djibouti Lion;
	(3)  whether his Department has made alternative plans for Royal Marines' training exercises in the next six months following the cancelled Exercise Djibouti Lion;
	(4)  which (a) administration and (b) other problems led to the cancellation of Exercise Djibouti Lion;
	(5)  when his Department received formal notice from the French government that French forces would not be taking part in Exercise Djibouti Lion;
	(6)  what the costs are, by category of expenditure, of the cancelled Exercise Djibouti Lion.

Mark Francois: holding answer 16 October 2013
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Leicestershire (Mr Robathan), on 8 October 2013, Official Report, column 34W, to the hon. Member for Moray (Angus Robertson).
	Activity costs for individual exercises are not identified separately within the overall Cougar 13 deployment. The specific financial information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost but their marginal costs above planned operating levels are low. Travel and subsistence costs for the initial reconnaissance visit for Djibouti Lion and the subsequent visit for negotiations were £27,500.
	HMS Bulwark, HMS Illustrious and RFA Mounts Bay as part of Cougar 13 were due to participate in the cancelled Exercise Djibouti Lion. RFA Mounts Bay, RFA Fort Victoria, RFA Lyme Bay and the RoRo Hurst Point still intend to make scheduled port visits to Djibouti.
	The numbers of personnel, by unit, who were due to participate in the Exercise, are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Unit Number of Personnel 
			 Commando Amphibious Forces—Battlestaff 50 
			 HQ 3 Commando Brigade RM 55 
			 42 Commando Group 500 
			 30 Commando (IX) Group RM (elements) 130 
			 29 Commando Regt Royal Artillery (elements) 35 
			 24 Commando Engineer Regt (elements) 30 
			 Cdo Logistics Regt (elements) 120 
			 539 ASRM (elements) 75 
			 (1) Not all personnel are Royal Marines and the numbers have been rounded. 
		
	
	Some Royal Marines have been re-tasked on other activity in the region, and some personnel will return to the UK in preparation for future exercises.
	Exercise Djibouti Lion required agreement on a number of administrative issues in order for UK forces to gain permission to access Djibouti. Regrettably satisfactory agreement on some issues could not be reached in time for the Exercise to proceed. This was a value for money decision; it was not for lack of available resources as has been reported in some quarters. Vessels involved carried on with their planned exercises in the Gulf region and built in additional training packages.
	French units were still planned to participate in Djibouti Lion before the UK cancelled the Exercise.

RAF Akrotiri

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on improving armed forces accommodation in RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus, in each year since 2010.

Mark Francois: It will take time to gather this information, I will write to the hon. Member.
	Substantive answer from Anna Soubry to Kevan Jones:
	My predecessor undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question on 6 September 2013 (Official Report, column 544W) about the Ministry of Defence's spend on improving Armed Forces accommodation in RAF Akrotiri.
	The amount spent on improving Armed Forces accommodation in RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus in each financial year since 2010-11 is as follows:
	
		
			 Financial Year Spend (€) 
			 2010-11 621,657 
			 2011-12 3,590,814 
			 2012-13 857,256

Recruitment

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's policy is on the use of genetic data from asymptomatic candidates who may continue to be asymptomatic indefinitely for use in its recruitment programme; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence neither collects nor uses genetic data from any candidates, asymptomatic or otherwise, in any of its recruitment programmes.

Redundancy

Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the (a) costs and (b) likely savings as a result of his Department's redundancy programme over the next five years.

Anna Soubry: holding answer 9 September 2013
	The final costs and savings from redundancies and early release schemes over the period will depend on a number of factors such as the level of natural wastage, salary, rank/grade and length of service of the personnel selected. Our current assessment is that the major drawdown in the numbers of service personnel and civilian staff will have been completed by financial year 2014-15. We estimate that the costs of exit packages in 2013-14 and 2014-15 will total some £460 million. Exit costs beyond 2014-15 are expected to be relatively small.
	We have made no estimate of the savings accruing specifically from the redundancy and early release programmes themselves, since they are part of broader workforce reductions. We estimate, however, that by 2021-22 we will have achieved cumulative savings of some £23 billion as a result of reductions in service and civilian personnel and greater efficiency in the conduct of non-front line activities.

Reserve Forces

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the process is for dealing with Reserve Forces applications; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The process for candidates applying to the Army Reserve is the same as for the Regular Army. After the initial online application, candidates complete medical screening questionnaires. If successful they proceed to face-to-face interviews with Army Career Centre staff. The interviews can also be undertaken by Army Reserve Liaison Officers for Army Reserve personnel. All continuing candidates will then be assessed, including medically, at one of the Army's four Assessment Centres. Final pre-employment checks are then conducted (including a basic security/criminal record check and confirmation of medical circumstances from each candidate's GP). If these pre-employment checks are completed successfully then the candidate can be enlisted and booked onto the appropriate initial (Phase 1) training course.

Territorial Army: Wales

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what plans his Department has to dispose of (a) Caernarfon TA and (b) other redundant TA training centres;
	(2)  where staff currently employed at Caernarfon TA barracks will be redeployed;
	(3)  what plans his Department has for the disposal of tied houses in relation to Caernarfon barracks.

Andrew Murrison: It is too early to say what the long term future of the Caernarfon Territorial Army (TA) centre site or any other redundant sites may be. Once vacated by the TA, the site, including any tied housing, will be handed over to the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) in line with departmental procedures. The DIO will then see if there is any wider Ministry of Defence (MOD) use for the site, followed by wider Government use and, if no such use is found, finally place it for sale on the open market.
	The effects of the Army Reserves basing announcement may affect the working arrangements of civilian staff. We do not yet know the fine detail of these changes, nor the definite time scale of implementation, but staff will be informed at the earliest possible opportunity. Staff affected by the changes will be managed in line with MOD policy.

Territorial Army: Wales

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what provision there is for training in the medium of Welsh at Territorial Army training centres in North Wales;
	(2)  what provision is made for Welsh language training at TA training centres in North Wales.

Mark Francois: No Army training is conducted in the medium of Welsh at Territorial Army centres in north Wales, nor is any provision made for Welsh language training for Army personnel.

Territorial Army: Wales

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the average travelling times to each TA training centre in North Wales.

Andrew Murrison: No assessment of the average travelling times to each Territorial Army (TA) training centre in North Wales has been made.
	As part of the work on Army Reserve structures and basing announced on 3 July 2013, Official Report, column 924, we did consider the distance of travel for those personnel based at the Caernarfon Territorial Army centre, which is being vacated, and Colwyn Bay, the nearest alternative base. This showed that the majority of relevant Army Reserve personnel lived closer to Colwyn Bay than they do to Caernarfon.

Territorial Army: Wales

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how large the geographical area being served by the TA training centre in Colwyn Bay is.

Andrew Murrison: There is no designated geographical area served by any Territorial Army Centre; while recruiting might be limited to a reasonable area, attendees can come from much further afield.

Territorial Army: Wales

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average attendance at each TA training centre in North Wales has been in each of the last 12 months.

Andrew Murrison: I will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

EDUCATION

Anti-Slavery Day

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what each Minister in his Department will be doing to acknowledge Anti-Slavery Day on 18 October 2013; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Tracey Crouch) on 24 June 2013, Official Report, column 128W.

Disciplinary Proceedings

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many members of staff in his Department are currently suspended; and for how long each such member of staff has been suspended.

Elizabeth Truss: No members of staff at the Department for Education are currently suspended.

Education Funding Agency

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to Cabinet Office Procurement Information Note 2/2010, whether the Education Funding Agency is required to comply with the advice that firms in construction supply chains should have payment security either through the use of project bank accounts or by Government clients requiring that all payments to sub-contractors are made within 19 days of the due dates in the main contract; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: As an Executive agency of a Government Department, the Education Funding Agency (EFA) is bound to comply with Procurement Information Notice 2/2010. The notice states that compliance with the Guide to Fair Payment Best Practice is a contractual requirement for central Government construction clients. Compliance with the guide has been a contractual requirement in the EFA's (previously Partnerships for Schools) Contractors Framework since 2009.
	The EFA has not yet used project bank accounts (PBAs). The notice is clear that it is not intended to apply retrospectively to contracts already in place. The EFA is currently re-procuring the Contractors Framework and is putting in place provision for the use of PBAs. The EFA will use PBAs for all construction procurement contracts that it enters into under the new Contractors Framework. The EFA will be encouraging all Contractors Framework users to adopt PBAs although it is acknowledged that there are some limited circumstances when their use may not be appropriate; in those circumstances, compliance with the guide will continue to be required.

Free Schools

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of applications to open free schools were made by (a) academy sponsors and (b) teacher-led groups in each year since the inception of free schools.

Edward Timpson: All free schools are set up with the involvement of educational experts and all successful applications must show sufficient educational capacity. Looking only at free schools proposers which have self-identified as ‘teacher-led groups’ or ‘academy sponsor groups’ does not, therefore, provide a full picture of the range of individuals and groups involved in the set-up and running of a free school. The Department received 70 (22%) applications from groups describing themselves as teacher-led in 2010, 72 (26%) in 2011, 35 (15%) in 2012 and 35 (11%) in 2013.
	The equivalent figures for applicants classifying themselves as academy sponsors are: 11 (3%) in 2010, 19 (7%) in 2011, 39 (16%) in 2012 and 77 (24%) in 2013. Some applications—while identified as academy sponsor groups–may be led by teacher groups who have opted to partner with an academy sponsor to bolster their expertise and capacity.

GCSE

Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of pupils achieved five or more GCSEs at grade C or above, including mathematics and English (a) in London, (b) in other areas of England and (c) in England; and what proportion of such pupils (i) spoke and (ii) did not speak English as an additional language in each of the last three years.

David Laws: The requested information on the proportion of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at grade C or above, including English and mathematics by region, local authority and by English as a first language can be found in the Department’s Statistical First Release: ‘GCSE and equivalent attainment by pupil characteristics in England: 2011 to 2012.’(1)
	The link "National and local authority tables SFR04/2013" table 4 contains the information required. There is a drop down box in the top right hand corner of the table which allows the filtering of each year back to 2008.
	(1) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gcse-and-equivalent -attainment-by-pupil-characteristics-in-england

Higher Education: South Yorkshire

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of school leavers in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) Barnsley, (c) south Yorkshire and (d) England went on to complete higher education in each of the last five years.

David Laws: Destination Measures data were published for the first time in July 2012 and covered the sustained educational destinations for academic year 2009/10. Constituency and regional level data are available only for the 2010/11 Destination Measures, published in 2013.
	The higher education destinations for Barnsley Central constituency, Barnsley local authority, Yorkshire and the Humber region, and England are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Percentage of KS5 students, entered for a Level 3 qualification,(1) going into a sustained(2) higher education destination in academic years 2009/10 and 2010/11 
			 Percentage 
			  2009/10 2010/11 
			 Barnsley Central constituency (3)— 35 
			 Barnsley local authority 46 38 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber region 53 49 
			 England 52 48 
			 (1) A-level or other level 3 qualifications. (2) Sustained for the first two terms, October to March. (3) Not available.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many complaints his Department has received about its special advisers since May 2010; what proportion of these complaints were investigated; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton), on 25 February 2013, Official Report, column 52W.

Munro Review

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what progress he has made on implementing each of the recommendations of the Munro Review of child protection.

Edward Timpson: The following recommendations made by Professor Munro have been implemented in full:
	1. the re-design of the inspection framework for services to safeguard children, including taking into account the feelings and experiences of children and young people about the services they receive;
	2. publication of a revised children's safeguarding performance information framework;
	3. new guidance issued on the role of directors of children's services and lead members;
	4. stopping the evaluation by Ofsted of serious case reviews;
	5. implementation of the professional capabilities framework for social workers;
	6. recruitment of two chief social workers, one to focus on children and families social work and the other on adult social work; and
	7. publication of 'Safeguarding vulnerable people in the reformed NHS: accountability and assurance framework'.
	8. the publication of the revised statutory guidance, ‘Working together to safeguard children’, in March 2013 provided full implementation of the following recommendations:
	9. revision of 'Working together to safeguard children' and 'The framework for the assessment of children in need and their families', including greater focus on the offer of early help;
	10. strengthening the role and responsibilities of Local Safeguarding Children's Boards (LSCBS);
	11. requiring LSCBS to produce an annual report submitted to the chief executive and leader of the council; and
	12. promoting the use of systems methodology in undertaking serious case reviews.
	Substantial progress is being made on implementing the other key recommendations, including supporting local areas in the redesign of their social work practice and designating a Principal Child and Family Social Worker in each local authority.
	In respect of Professor Munro's recommendation on introducing a duty to secure provision of early help services, the Government has concluded that there is sufficient legislation in place to deliver early help services to children and families. We are continuing to work with sector partners to reinforce existing legislation and understand how early help offers in local areas can be improved.

Parents: Education

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of parents who have taken up classes in the CANparent trial areas who have below average household income;
	(2)  how many parents have taken up CANparent free parenting classes in the trial programmes in (a) Middlesbrough, (b) High Peak, (c) Camden and (d) Bristol to date.

Edward Timpson: Data on the household income of parents who have taken up classes in the CANparent Trial areas are not held by the Department.
	As of 15 October 2013, 417 parents have taken up CANparent classes in Middlesbrough, 307 in High Peak and 705 in Camden. The Department does not currently hold data on the number of parents taking up classes in Bristol. This trial area is operating under an alternative model with less central management.

Pre-school Education

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment his Department has made of the (a) supply of and (b) demand for early years workers in each of the next three years.

Elizabeth Truss: The early years and child care market is dynamic and diverse and we expect it to respond positively to a growing demand for places, including through the recruitment of additional high quality staff.
	We know that the quality of the workforce is a crucial element of high quality early years provision, and that teachers, or other suitably qualified graduates, are particularly effective. The Government is, therefore, taking action to raise the status of the profession and help attract high quality people into early education.
	We have introduced early years teachers who will specialise in early childhood development. Entrants to these courses (which started in September 2013) will need to meet the same requirements, and pass the same skills tests, as trainee school teachers. Early years teachers recruitment closed on 30 September and achieved 2,327 trainees (97%) against a target of 2,400. This recruitment level is higher than the previous September 2012 Early Years Professional Status (EYPS) recruitment of 78%. This successful outcome has been achieved in the context of tougher entry requirements for September 2013 with the addition of science GCSE.
	The market will also benefit from the introduction of early years educators. Only the best qualifications, which meet rigorous criteria (which we published in the summer) set out by the National College of Teaching Leadership, will earn the early years educator title. Candidates can apply to undertake the new early years educator qualifications during 2013-14 and will start their courses in September 2014.
	During this transition, and to support the delivery of early learning places for two-year-olds, we have introduced this September an apprenticeship bursary scheme of £2 million for the early years profession to provide up to 1,000 bursaries to highly qualified people aspiring to a career in early education. The Teach First programme has also been extended, from July this year, to include those working in the early years.

Public Appointments

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the role of non-executive board members of his Department is; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: Non-executives provide advice and bring an external perspective to the business of Government Departments; they do not have 'executive' decision making powers.
	Non-executives exercise their role through advice and challenge. They support and challenge the Executive on a range of areas, including implementation of the. Department's business plan and operational and delivery implications of departmental policy proposals.

Pupil Exclusions: Greater Manchester

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many exclusions there have been in (a) Denton and Reddish constituency, (b) the metropolitan borough of Tameside and (c) the metropolitan borough of Stockport in each of the last 10 years.

Elizabeth Truss: Information on the number of permanent exclusions and the number of fixed period exclusions in Denton and Reddish constituency, Tameside local authority, Stockport local authority and England is shown in the following tables.
	Information has been provided for 2008/09 to 2011/12. To provide data for further years would incur disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 State-funded primary, state-funded secondary schools and special schools(1, 2, 3, 4). Number of permanent exclusions and number of fixed period exclusions. 2008/09 to 2011/12(5). England, Tameside local authority, Stockport local authority and Denton and Reddish constituency 
			 Permanent exclusions 
			  2008/09 
			  State-funded primary(1, 2) State-funded secondary(1, 3) Special(4) Total(1, 2, 3, 4) 
			  Number of permanent exclusions Percentage of the school population(6) Number of permanent exclusions Percentage of the school population(6) Number of permanent exclusions Percentage of the school population(6) Number of permanent exclusions Percentage of the school population(6) 
			 England 720 0.02 5,700 0.17 120 0.13 6,550 0.09 
			 Tameside local authority 10 0.05 35 0.24 0 0.00 50 0.13 
			 Stockport local authority x x 49 0.33 0 0.00 50 0.13 
			 Denton and Reddish constituency x x 18 0.28 0 0.00 20 0.16 
		
	
	
		
			 Permanent exclusions 
			  2009/10 
			  State-funded primary(1, 2) State-funded secondary(1, 3) Special(4) Total(1, 2, 3, 4) 
			  Number of permanent exclusions Percentage of the school population(6) Number of permanent exclusions Percentage of the school population(6) Number of permanent exclusions Percentage of the school population(6) Number of permanent exclusions Percentage of the school population(6) 
			 England 620 0.02 5,020 0.15 100 0.11 5,740 0.08 
			 Tameside local authority 8 0.04 30 0.21 0 0.00 40 0.11 
			 Stockport local authority 0 0.00 49 0.33 0 0.00 50 0.13 
			 Denton and Reddish constituency x x 11 0.18 0 0.00 10 0.09 
		
	
	
		
			 Permanent exclusions 
			  2010/11 
			  State-funded primary(1, 2) State-funded secondary(1, 3) Special(4) Total(1, 2, 3, 4) 
			  Number of permanent exclusions Percentage of the school population(6) Number of permanent exclusions Percentage of the school population(6) Number of permanent exclusions Percentage of the school population(6) Number of permanent exclusions Percentage of the school population(6) 
			 England 610 0.01 4,370 0.13 110 0.12 5,080 0.07 
			 Tameside local authority x x 33 0.24 0 0.00 40 0.10 
			 Stockport local authority x x 44 0.31 0 0.00 50 0.12 
			 Denton and Reddish constituency x x 17 0.31 0 0.00 20 0.14 
		
	
	
		
			 Permanent exclusions 
			  2011/12 
			  State-funded primary(1, 2) State-funded secondary(1, 3) Special(4) Total(1, 2, 3, 4) 
			  Number of permanent exclusions Percentage of the school population(6) Number of permanent exclusions Percentage of the school population(6) Number of permanent exclusions Percentage of the school population(6) Number of permanent exclusions Percentage of the school population(6) 
			 England 690 0.02 4,390 0.14 80 0.09 5,170 0.07 
			 Tameside local authority 9 0.04 43 0.31 0 0.00 50 0.15 
			 Stockport local authority 0 0.00 39 0.27 0 0.00 40 0.10 
			 Denton and Reddish constituency x x 18 0.30 0 0.00 20 0.15 
		
	
	
		
			 Fixed period exclusions 
			  2008/09 
			  State-funded primary(1, 2) State-funded secondary(1, 3) Special(4) Total(1, 2, 3, 4) 
			  Number of fixed period exclusions Percentage of the school population(7) Number of fixed period exclusions Percentage of the school population(7) Number of fixed period exclusions Percentage of the school population(7) Number of fixed period exclusions Percentage of the school population(7) 
			 England 39,510 0.97 307,840 9.41 15,930 17.71 363,280 4.89 
			 Tameside local authority 243 1.24 1,617 11.06 86 22.05 1,950 5.61 
			 Stockport local authority 87 0.39 1,828 12.35 63 10.38 1,980 5.22 
			 Denton and Reddish constituency 95 1.32 748 11.61 0 0.00 840 6.15 
		
	
	
		
			 Fixed period exclusions 
			  2009/10 
			  State-funded primary(1, 2) State-funded secondary(1, 3) Special(4) Total(1, 2, 3, 4) 
			  Number of fixed period exclusions Percentage of the school population(7) Number of fixed period exclusions Percentage of the school population(7) Number of fixed period exclusions Percentage of the school population(7) Number of fixed period exclusions Percentage of the school population(7) 
			 England 37,210 0.91 279,260 8.59 14,910 16.46 331,380 4.46 
			 Tameside local authority 287 1.45 1,519 10.62 118 31.55 1,920 5.59 
		
	
	
		
			 Stockport local authority 119 0.53 1,382 9.42 95 17.56 1,600 4.23 
			 Denton and Reddish constituency 83 1.14 481 7.68 x x 570 4.18 
		
	
	
		
			 Fixed period exclusions 
			  2010/11 
			  State-funded primary(1, 2) State-funded secondary(1, 3) Special(4) Total(1, 2, 3, 4) 
			  Number of fixed period exclusions Percentage of the school population(7) Number of fixed period exclusions Percentage of the school population(7) Number of fixed period exclusions Percentage of the school population(7) Number of fixed period exclusions Percentage of the school population(7) 
			 England 37,790 0.91 271,980 8.40 14,340 15.66 324,110 4.34 
			 Tameside local authority 299 1.50 1,518 10.83 89 24.25 1,910 5.56 
			 Stockport local authority 113 0.49 1,567 10.88 109 18.96 1,790 4.71 
			 Denton and Reddish constituency 58 0.78 532 9.83 x x 590 4.58 
		
	
	
		
			 Fixed period exclusions 
			  2011/12 
			  State-funded primary(1, 2) State-funded secondary(1, 3) Special(4) Total(1, 2, 3, 4) 
			  Number of fixed period exclusions Percentage of the school population(7) Number of fixed period exclusions Percentage of the school population(7) Number of fixed period exclusions Percentage of the school population(7) Number of fixed period exclusions Percentage of the school population(7) 
			 England 37,790 0.90 252,210 7.85 14,370 15.39 304,370 4.05 
			 Tameside local authority 328 1.63 1,519 11.06 117 33.05 1,960 5.74 
			 Stockport local authority 147 0.63 1,622 11.36 111 17.73 1,880 4.93 
			 Denton and Reddish constituency 76 1.00 611 10.31 x x 690 5.07 
			 x = Less than 5, or a percentage based on less than 5. (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes primary academies. (3) Includes city technology colleges and secondary academies (including all-through academies). (4) Includes maintained special schools, non-maintained special schools and special academies. Excludes general hospital schools. (5) Figures relating to permanent exclusions for the years 2008/09 to 2009/10 are estimates based on incomplete pupil-level data. (6) The number of permanent exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of pupils (excluding dually registered pupils) as at January each year. (7) The number of fixed period exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of pupils (excluding dually registered pupils) as at January each year. Note: National and total figures may not appear to equal the sum of component parts because numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census

Pupils: Bullying

Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when his Department last updated its guidance to schools on homophobic bullying and language.

Elizabeth Truss: We substantively updated our bullying advice to schools in 2011, making it shorter and more accessible so that schools are clear about their legal obligations and powers. In July 2013 we made some minor changes mainly to tighten the drafting in relation to the legal obligations on maintained schools and academies in respect of their behaviour policies.
	The advice states that all schools should have a behaviour policy. This should contain measures to prevent all forms of bullying, including bullying based on prejudice against any particular groups, on the grounds of, for example, race, religion, gender or sexual orientation. Our advice includes signposts to organisations, such as Stonewall, EACH and School's Out, where schools can access specialist information and advice on dealing with issues such as homophobic bullying.

Pupils: Bullying

Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if his Department will review its guidance to schools on homophobic bullying and language.

Elizabeth Truss: We regularly review our guidance on behaviour and bullying to ensure that it is useful to schools. The current advice will next be formally reviewed in spring 2014. We will ensure that it contains up-to-date advice and signposting to specialist organisations to help schools tackle all forms of bullying, particularly that which is motivated by prejudice such as homophobic bullying and language.

Pupils: Coastal Areas

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to the Ofsted publication, Unseen children: access and achievement 20 years on, page 7, column 1, paragraph 2, what assessment he has made of the educational achievement of pupils in coastal towns.

Edward Timpson: Research published by the Department for Communities and Local Government on seaside towns in 2008(1), found that educational attainment varies considerably between areas.
	More information on pupil attainment at local authority, super output area and ward is available via the Neighbourhood Statistics website(2).
	(1)https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/7624/englishseasidetowns.pdf
	(2 )Neighbourhood Statistics—Home Page.

Schools: Bible

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the total cost to his Department of his King James Bible project has been; what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of that project; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: There was no cost to the Department for the King James Bible project. The costs were met in full by charitable donations. These costs were published on the Department for Education website in February 2013 at the following link:
	https://www.education.gov.uk/schools/toolsandinitiatives/b00205257/king-james-bible
	We have made no formal assessment of the project. It is for schools to decide how they use the King James Bible to support the teaching of English literature and language, history, drama, art, music, and religious education or in school projects.

Schools: Finance

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools financial value standard declarations for (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) south Yorkshire and (c) England are outstanding from the last financial year.

David Laws: The Schools Financial Value Standard (SFVS) was introduced to local authority maintained schools in the academic year from September 2011. The SFVS does not apply to academies and free schools, but they can use the standard if they find it useful.
	The first collation of data was from September 2011 to 31 March 2012, applicable only for those schools that did not achieve the Financial Management Standard in Schools (FMSiS) before. All the remaining schools were required to submit their SFVS forms by 31 March 2013, with an annual review thereafter.
	The Education Funding Agency (EFA) monitors the submission of SFVS declarations through local authorities' dedicated schools grant assurance statements. It is a mandatory requirement for all local authority maintained schools to complete the SFVS assessment form on an annual basis and submit a signed copy to their authority. Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that schools submit SFVS returns and the EFA will be notified at that point if any warrant further investigation.
	The assurance statements for 2012 to 2013 show that:
	(a) There are no SFVS declarations outstanding in Barnsley local authority.
	(b) The area of the former South Yorkshire Metropolitan Council includes Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield local authorities:
	There are no SFVS declarations outstanding from schools in Barnsley;
	There are no SFVS declarations outstanding from schools in Doncaster;
	There are no SFVS declarations outstanding from schools in Rotherham; and
	There are four SFVS declarations outstanding from schools in Sheffield.
	A total of four SFVS declarations are outstanding from the area of the former South Yorkshire Metropolitan Council.
	(c) 1.1% of SFVS declarations are currently outstanding from the total number of maintained schools in England.

Schools: Finance

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools financial value standard declarations for the last financial year in (a) Barnsley Central constituency, (b) south Yorkshire and (c) England have warranted further investigation.

David Laws: The Education Funding Agency (EFA) monitors Schools Financial Value Standard (SFVS) declarations through local authorities' dedicated schools grant assurance statements. The assurance statements for 2012 to 2013 show that 99% of SFVS returns have been submitted by schools in England. The assurance statements confirm that local authorities have systems in place that give adequate assurance over schools standards of financial management and the regularity and propriety of their expenditure. Therefore, the SFVS returns covered by the assurance statements do not warrant further investigation.
	Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that schools submit SFVS returns and the EFA will be notified at that point if any warrant further investigation.

The Guardian

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spent on advertising with (a)The Guardian newspaper, (b)The Guardian website and (c)The Guardian Media Group in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11, (iii) 2011-12 and (iv) 2012-13.

Elizabeth Truss: The financial accounting system within the Department does not allow analysis to the level of detail requested in (a) and (b).
	Data are only available up to 2010-11 because, since 2011, the Department has used the Central Office of Information and Creative Choices to procure advertising, without recording the identity of the end supplier.
	The Department has spent the following amounts with The Guardian News and Media Group:
	
		
			 £ 
			  Advertising Total 
			 2007-08 0.00 2,445,787.76 
			 2008-09 2,428.80 1,729,695.24 
			 2009-10 0.00 724,206.75 
			 2010-11 5,232.00 421,850.36

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Billing

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many invoices were processed by her Department in the last financial year which figures are available.

Helen Grant: In last the financial year (1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013) the Department processed 5,285 invoices.

Direct Selling

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what measures are in place to prevent nuisance calls originating from outside the UK.

Helen Grant: The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) 2003 prevents nuisance marketing calls being made from within the UK and also from outside the UK on behalf of UK companies. Callers are legally required to ensure they do not call a number that is Telephone Preference Service (TPS) registered, or if they have previously been notified by the caller not to make further calls. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) considers complaints about breaches of the PECR and can issue a monetary penalty of up to £500,000 to callers who wilfully or negligently breach the regulations. In addition, the Office of Communications (Ofcom) under the Communications Act 2003 covers silent and abandoned calls through their persistent misuse powers. This includes calls that originate from outside the UK made on behalf of UK companies and Ofcom can issue a monetary penalty of up to £2 million to company for a breach of its persistent misuse rules covering silent and abandoned calls. Marketing calls made from outside of the UK on behalf of non-UK companies are outside of the UK's jurisdiction. As part of the strategy paper published in July
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/connectivity-content-and-consumers-britains-digital-platform-for-growth
	my Department has committed to consider further measures to enable improved enforcement action against nuisance calls. This includes legislating to allow sharing of information between Ofcom and ICO and consideration of measures to lower the legal threshold to allow ICO to issue more monetary penalties. Further thinking will be set out in an action plan in the autumn.

Direct Selling

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what measures are in place to prevent companies in the UK employing foreign call centres to make nuisance sales calls on their behalf.

Helen Grant: Overseas call centres that are engaged by UK companies to make marketing calls on their behalf must comply with the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) 2003. Callers are legally required to ensure they do not call a number that is Telephone Preference Service (TPS) registered, or if they have previously been notified by the caller not to make further calls. The Information Commissioner's Office can issue a monetary penalty of up to £500,000 for companies breaching PECR. Additionally, callers are required to ensure compliance with Ofcom's persistent misuse guidelines in relation to silent and abandoned calls and Ofcom can issue monetary penalties of up to £2 million for companies breaching its persistent misuse rules. As part of the strategy paper published in July
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/connectivity-content-and-consumers-britains-digital-platform-for-growth
	my Department has committed to consider further measures to enable improved enforcement action against nuisance calls. This includes legislating to allow sharing of information between Ofcom and ICO and consideration of measures to lower the legal threshold to allow ICO to issue more monetary penalties. Further thinking will be set out in an action plan in the autumn.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Adoption: Self-employed

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will bring forward an amendment to the Children and Families Bill to extend statutory adoption pay and maternity allowance to self-employed adopters.

Jo Swinson: The Government has no plans to introduce an amendment to provide statutory adoption pay to self-employed adopters. Statutory adoption guidance asks local authorities to consider making a payment to self-employed adopters equivalent to maternity allowance.
	This payment is discretionary and means-tested to ensure that resources are targeted at those adopters who need it most and forms part of a package of post-adoption support available to prospective adopters (irrespective of whether they are self-employed or not) once they have been approved as an adoptive parent and linked to a child.
	We have committed to review the provision of shared parental pay for all self-employed after 2018. This would also consider the provision of shared parental pay to self-employed adoptive parents.

Business: Greater Manchester

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many businesses in (a) Denton and Reddish constituency, (b) the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside and (c) the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport were owned solely by women in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Matthew Hancock: Information is not available to answer this question for these specific geographical areas.
	However, estimates from the BIS Small Business Survey show that 18% of small and medium-size enterprises in the UK were either solely led by women, or had a management team of which the majority were women. This equates to around 860,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).(1)
	Further information is available via the link provided below:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/small-business-survey-2012-businesses-led-by-women-and-ethnic-minorities
	The Small Business Survey is not large enough to provide estimates for smaller areas.
	(1) Private sector businesses with fewer than 250 employees.

Centre on Migration Policy and Society

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 13 May 2013, Official Report, column 81W, on Centre on Migration, Policy and Society, for what purposes that funding was granted; and for what purpose that funding was used.

David Willetts: Funding has been used for COMPAS' current research programme grouped around five thematic clusters, each addressing one element of the migration process:
	Flows and Dynamics—exploring global migration flows and the dynamics that drive, facilitate and inhibit migration.
	Labour Markets—analysing the socio-economics of international labour migration, particularly the economics and politics of labour shortages and demand.
	Citizenship and Belonging—addressing the relationship between mobility, citizenship and the numerous ways in which people 'belong'.
	Urban Change and Settlement—challenging assumptions around movement and settlement patterns, investigating emergent urbanisms and processes of integration.
	Welfare—addressing the relationship between migration and welfare provision in ‘receiving' and ‘sending' countries.
	Eligible costs on Research Council-funded grants include Principal and Co- Investigator time, staffing, travel and subsistence, equipment and survey costs, estates and indirect costs and the predicted costs for any communication, knowledge exchange, public engagement or other impact activities planned throughout the project. The COMPAS grant includes funding across all these headings.
	Research Council funding is made on the basis of full Economic Costing, supporting 80% of eligible costs, with the remaining 20% provided by the host institution. All expenditure to date has been in line with Research Council funding rules.

Employee Ownership

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many businesses have taken on an employee shareholder to date; and how many people are employed on employee shareholder contracts.

Jo Swinson: The new status came into effect on 1 September 2013. BIS has not collected any statistics to date. It is a voluntary option that some employers may wish to consider using.
	As part of the post-implementation review BIS will use information from a number of sources to make an assessment of the take up of the new status.
	Those thinking of using the new status may seek advice from a number of different sources such as their legal contacts, or a helpline or business organisation. These are likely to provide information on take up.

External Trade

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which Ministers are responsible for the ongoing Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: The Minister of State for Trade and Investment, my noble Friend Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint, is responsible for trade policy including EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), is the Cabinet Minister responsible for TTIP and the Minister without Portfolio, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), is also closely involved in our work to engage with business and build political support for an ambitious deal in the EU and the US.
	TTIP is a priority for the Government and has the potential to be the largest bilateral trade agreement in history and to bring significant economic benefits in terms of growth and jobs to both sides of the Atlantic. The UK has consistently pushed for an ambitious agreement that cuts tariffs, addresses behind-the-border barriers and helps to achieve regulatory coherence between Europe and the US.

Green Investment Bank

Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what contribution he expects the Green Investment Bank to make to green growth.

Michael Fallon: Funded with £3.8 billion to March 2016, the Government expects the Green Investment Bank to play a significant role in accelerating the UK's progress towards a green economy both through its direct involvement in financing green projects and by helping to improve the overall financing environment and attracting new sources of capital into relevant green sectors. To date, the bank has committed £714 million in to green projects with every £1 invested mobilising approaching £3 of further investment from the private sector.

Royal Mail

Margaret Ritchie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what representations he has received from the Northern Ireland Executive on the privatisation of Royal Mail; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: I have not received any representation from the Northern Ireland Executive regarding the sale of Royal Mail.

Sri Lanka

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether a trade delegation will be accompanying the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and the Prime Minister to Sri Lanka for the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting.

Michael Fallon: The British Government will be represented at Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) by the Prime Minister, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office. There are currently no plans for a trade delegation to accompany any Government representatives to CHOGM.
	Some UK companies will attend the Commonwealth Business Forum which takes place before CHOGM on 12-14 November.

Students: Loans

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what value of loans provided by the Student Loan Company were paid late in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many loans provided by the Student Loan Company that were paid late were paid within (a) one month, (b) two months and (c) three months of the original payment data in each of the last five years.

David Willetts: Information is not available in the form requested. Information about the performance of Student Loans Company (SLC) in the administration of student finance is included in their annual report. The latest annual report, for the 2012-13 financial year, stated that 99.9% of student finance applications(1) were processed before the start of term.
	http://www.slc.co.uk/media/632300/slc_annual_report _1213_v14_final.pdf
	(1) Student finance core applications received before the published deadlines.

Students: Loans

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students were unable to continue with their university education as a result of not receiving their student loan on time in the last academic year.

David Willetts: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes statistics on students enrolled at UK higher education institutions (HEIs). Information on the number of entrants not continuing in higher education after their first year is published as part of ‘Performance Indicators in Higher Education in the UK’, which is available at the following link:
	http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task =view&id=2064&ltemid=141
	However, there are no statistics available on the number of students who do not continue in higher education, specifically, as a result of not receiving their student loan on time.
	Universities will often offer help to students in circumstances where loans are not received on time.

Students: Loans

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assistance his Department makes available to students who do not receive their student loan on time.

David Willetts: I am informed by the Student Loans Company that all complete applications received with the required evidence before the deadline are processed in date order and will lead to payment before the start of term. For late applications, or those where there is a requirement for further evidence, SLC will attempt to ensure that at least the minimum non-means tested payment is made available to students. Further payments can then be made when evidence to demonstrate entitlement has been received and processed. The further evidence will almost always be financial evidence to support an application for the means tested element of support.
	Students who are facing financial hardship may be eligible to receive assistance from the Access to Learning Fund. This is a discretionary fund administered by higher education institutions. This year £37.4 million Government funding has been distributed to institutions to finance this fund.

Students: Loans

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what value of student loans were granted in each of the last five years.

David Willetts: Figures on the amount of loans awarded and paid to students are shown in the table.
	These statistics are published each year by the Student Loans Company (SLC) in the publication ‘Student Support for Higher Education in England’. The latest publication is available via the following link and the relevant tables are 4A and 4B:
	http://www.slc.co.uk/statistics/national-statistics
	
		
			 Payment and award of Tuition fee and Maintenance loans to full-time students, academic years 2008/09 to 2012/13 
			  Amount of maintenance loans(1) (£ million) Amount of tuition fee loan(2) (£ million) 
			 Academic year Awarded (mid November during the relevant academic year) Paid (end of August following the relevant academic year) Awarded (mid November during the relevant academic year) Paid (end of August following the relevant academic year) 
			 2008/09 2,541.2 2,717.0 2,047.7 1,981.1 
			 2009/10 2,704.4 2,946.0 2,465.2 2,344.2 
			 2010/11 3,000.1 3,103.1 2,756.7 2,552.8 
			 2011/12 3,250.8 3,330.9 3,063.8 2,840.1 
			 2012/13 (provisional) 3,310.2 n/a 4,633.9 n/a 
			 n/a = Not available. (1) Maintenance Loan amounts granted to full-time applicants domiciled in England. (2) Tuition fee loan amounts granted to full-time applicants domiciled in England and EU applicants studying in England. Source: Student Loans Company (SLC) 
		
	
	The figures for 2012/13 were provisional. Final figures on Student Support for 2012/13 will be published by the Student Loans Company in November 2013.
	Statistics on Student Support Awards are collated two months into the academic year and give an early indication of the likely trend in expenditure and are subject to change over the course of the academic year. Statistics on Student Support Payments cover the eventual expenditure after completion of the full academic year.

Vocational Training

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what criteria he is using to judge whether round one of the Employer Ownership of Skills pilot has been successful.

Matthew Hancock: The Department has commissioned an independent evaluation of Round 1 of the Employer Ownership of Skills Pilot, which is being conducted by CFE in collaboration with the university of Sheffield and Qa Research. The overall aim of this evaluation is to provide evidence of the impact of the pilot and an assessment of whether giving employers direct access to public funding has increased or improved their investment in skills, or enabled them to demonstrate more effective ways of improving skills in the workforce than they can currently achieve through mainstream funding. The evaluation will gather evidence from employers, providers, learners and other stakeholders to ensure that we can evaluate the pilot processes; assess the impact and determine whether the pilot achieves value for money.

Vocational Training

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many of the Employer Ownership of Skills pilot projects in round one (a) had a funding agreement in place, (b) had received funding, (c) have started and (d) had been completed as of 1 October 2013.

Matthew Hancock: Information on Round 1 projects in the Employer Ownership pilot is compiled by SFA on a quarterly basis. The next update is due in early November.
	Currently, (a) all 36 projects have a signed grant offer letter and (b) 35 of these have received funding.
	(c) All 36 projects are operational and will receive funding over a number of years. One project has started to deliver but has not yet made their first claim.
	(d) None of the projects have been completed.
	That is the sort of delivery you can expect from this Government.

Vocational Training

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many individuals (a) have completed and (b) are in the process of completing (i) apprenticeship frameworks and (ii) other nationally-recognised qualifications as part of round one the Employer Ownership of Skills as of 1 October 2013.

Matthew Hancock: Data on the number of starts and achievements for apprenticeships and other qualifications as part of Round 1 of the Employer Ownership Project will be published in the November 2013 Statistical First Release (SFR). Individuals starting/achieving more than one apprenticeship or other qualification will appear more than once. The SFR will be published here on 28 November:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/Statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current/

Vocational Training

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he plans to publish analysis produced by (a) his Department and (b) the UK Commission for Employment and Skills on the performance of round one of the Employer Ownership of Skills pilot.

Matthew Hancock: The Department, in conjunction with the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, has commissioned an independent evaluation of the impact and value for money for Round 1 of the Employer Ownership of Skills pilot. This is being conducted by CFE in collaboration with the university of Sheffield and Qa Research.
	The final impact evaluation report is due in September 2017 with annual reports earmarked as follows:
	Summer 2014: baseline report;
	Summer 2015: annual progress report;
	Summer 2016: annual progress report.

JUSTICE

Prisoners: British Nationals Abroad

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice who pays for the flights and associated security of British citizens jailed abroad coming to serve their prison time in the UK; and who makes the decision about such prisoners being permitted to serve their time in UK prisons.

Jeremy Wright: British nationals imprisoned abroad who voluntarily seek to serve their sentences in the United Kingdom are required to pay the cost of their own airfare. Other associated costs such as the provision of an escort are met by the National Offender Management Service.
	Where a British national is transferred to the United Kingdom to continue serving his sentence here without that person’s consent, all costs involved in the transfer are met by the sentencing state which is responsible for delivering the prisoner to the United Kingdom.
	The Secretary of State is responsible for the repatriation of prisoners into and out of England and Wales. Responsibility for the determination of individual applications is delegated to officials within the National Offender Management Service. All cases relating to high profile or high security transfers are referred to Ministers for decision.
	The transfer of prisoners into and out of Scotland, and into and out of Northern Ireland is a devolved matter and separate arrangements may apply in those jurisdictions.

Prisoners: British Nationals Abroad

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many British citizens who committed crime abroad are serving their time in UK jails; and at what total cost to the public purse.

Jeremy Wright: From 1 January 2007 to date, 493 British citizens have transferred from prisons abroad to prisons in England and Wales in order to serve their sentences here.
	NOMS central databases are unable to identify separately those prisoners who have returned to the UK and who remain in custody as a result of that sentence.
	NOMS does not calculate separately the cost of British citizens who committed crime abroad and are serving their sentences in prisons in England and Wales. NOMS does not analyse cost by prisoner nationality, gender or individual prisoner level, as costs recorded on the NOMS central accounting system do not allow identification of costs attributable to holding individual offenders.
	The transfer of prisoners into and out of Scotland, and into and out of Northern Ireland is a devolved matter and is the responsibility of the relevant Minister.

Prisoners: Mental Capacity

Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to ensure that the protections offered by the Mental Capacity Act 2008 are available to those in HM prisons.

Jeremy Wright: As in the community, prison mental health services are provided through a combination of primary care and specialist teams. Most prisoners' mental health care needs can be met by primary care.
	Prisoners are screened on arrival in prison by trained staff to identify their health needs, including any requirement for a mental health assessment.
	Prison Service Instruction 64/2011—Safer Custody has a dedicated chapter on complex behaviours providing an overview of mental health, including mental capacity, and staff are required to comply with it. Compliance is tested by the Chief Inspector of Prisons and Independent Monitoring Boards.
	The National Offender Management Service also provides mental health training for relevant staff.

Prisoners: Mental Illness

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners have been transferred to hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983 in each of the last 10 years.

Jeremy Wright: The number of prisoners directed to hospital for treatment under the Mental Health Act 1983 in each of the past 10 years is set out in the table.
	These figure include persons sectioned under section 47 (sentenced prisoners) and section 48 (unsentenced prisoners, immigration detainees and civil prisoners).
	
		
			  Total 
			 2003 722 
			 2004 831 
			 2005 834 
			 2006 894 
			 2007 873 
			 2008 926 
			 2009 940 
		
	
	
		
			 2010 945 
			 2011 953 
			 2012 979 
		
	
	The proportion of prisoners transferred to hospital has remained stable in recent years.

Prisoners: Repatriation

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign nationals sentenced in the UK have chosen to spend their prison sentence in their home country in each of the last three years.

Jeremy Wright: The number of foreign nationals sentenced to imprisonment in England and Wales who have voluntarily returned to serve their sentence in prisons in their home country in each of the last three years is as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2010 41 
			 2011 33 
			 2012 41 
		
	
	The repatriation of prisoners to and from Scotland, and to and from Northern Ireland is a devolved matter.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Annual Reports

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when his Department’s Annual Report and Accounts for 2012-13 will be published.

Esther McVey: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I provided to the hon. Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty) on 8 October 2013, Official Report, column 172W.

Cold Weather Payments

Sarah Newton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the number of people eligible for cold weather payments in each weather station area of the UK.

Steve Webb: The estimates for the number of people eligible for cold weather payments in each weather station area in the UK will not be available until the end of October. The estimates are produced by a scan of the systems immediately prior to the start of the cold weather payment season, commencing 1 November 2013. The scan is conducted as close as possible to the start of the cold weather season to best represent the most accurate number of eligible customers.
	When the estimates become available I will place a copy in the House of Commons Library.

Employment and Support Allowance: Bradford

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many employment and support allowance (ESA) applicants from Bradford were signed off ESA before their appeals were heard in the last 12 months.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Employment and Support Allowance: Bradford

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the success rate of appeals of decisions on entitlement to employment and support allowance from Bradford was in the last 12 months.

Michael Penning: The information requested, for new claims to employment and support allowance (ESA), is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Number of appeals heard on fit for work decisions in the initial functional assessment for new claims to ESA by local authority and appeal outcome: 1 June 2011 to 31 May 2012 
			  Appeal outcome 
			 Local authority Initial decision overturned Initial decision upheld 
			 Bradford 100 400 
			 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 2. The latest data available is to 31 May 2012. This is due to a reporting lag of approximately 14 months which is needed to process the data and to enable the bulk of appeals to be heard by Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). 3. Data is updated quarterly. The next intended release date is 22 October 2013. Source: Department for Work and Pensions benefit administration dataset. 
		
	
	The information requested for appeals heard on fit for work decisions in the functional assessment for repeat claims to ESA is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Food Banks

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the oral answer of the Prime Minister of 11 September 2013, Official Report, column 975, what definitions his Department uses of referring and signposting.

Esther McVey: DWP is only a signposting body that does not get involved in any decision to award a food parcel. The act of signposting to any local organisation including foodbanks is not a formal referral or endorsement on the part of the DWP. The operation of foodbanks is not the responsibility of this Department.

Housing Benefit

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what definition of significantly adapted properties is used to calculate discretionary housing payments.

Steve Webb: Local authorities have not been provided with a definition of significantly adapted accommodation as we do not want to limit the scope where help would be considered.
	Individual circumstances vary widely and local authorities are best placed to determine these based on local knowledge.

Housing Benefit: Scotland

Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what payments his Department plans to make from the discretionary housing payment budget to each of Scotland's local authorities in the year 2014-15; and what proportion of the overall discretionary housing payment budget this represents in each local authority area.

Steve Webb: The discretionary housing payment allocation for the 2014-15 financial year will not be available until early next year.

Jobcentre Plus: Wales

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff were employed in job centres in Wales as of 1 April (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013.

Michael Penning: As at 31 March for the three years in question, the numbers of staff who were employed in jobcentres in Wales were as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
			 As at 31 March each year:  
			 2011 2,045 
			 2012 1,942 
			 2013 1,823

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the contribution by the Minister of State for Employment of 12 February 2013, Fourth Delegated Legislation Committee, column 19, what sanctions notifications will be in writing; in what proportion of cases that undertaking has been adhered to; and whether his Department plans to review that policy.

Esther McVey: All sanctions notifications should be in writing and there are no current plans to review this policy. No statistical information on the number of issue of such notifications is kept.

Motability: Newport (Gwent)

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Newport East constituency have a Motability vehicle.

Michael Penning: Information on how many people in Newport East constituency have a Motability vehicle is not held by the Department. As an independent charity, Motability is responsible for collating its own management information and they may be able to answer your question. Questions about Motability can be sent to: Declan O'Mahony, Director, Motability, Warwick House, Roydon Road, Harlow, Essex CM19 5PX.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how his Department plans to calculate entitlement to universal credit for claimants with PAYE annual status.

Esther McVey: A universal credit award is adjusted by any earnings received in a claimant's monthly assessment period. Therefore, where all earnings are paid annually, they will be taken into account in that one assessment period. If the earnings are more than the claimant's universal credit award, he or she will lose entitlement to universal credit. The claimant can reclaim universal credit in the following assessment period and any unspent earnings will be classed as personal capital and may effect entitlement to universal credit. Where no earnings are received and the claimant has work-related requirements, he or she may be required to look for paid employment.
	However, if the claimant is analogous to a sole trader, DWP will investigate the nature of the business and whether the claimant should be treated as self-employed. If treated as self-employed, the claimant will have an assumed level of earnings, the Minimum Income Floor, applied to the award and any PAYE earnings would be taken into account against the particular assessment period they were paid.
	DWP is looking into the feasibility of introducing a carry forward of earnings in the future.

Vetting

Shaun Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what assessments his Department has made of the cost of a DBS check; and what assessment he has made of the effects of the cost of a DBS check on the ability of unemployed people to move into work;
	(2)  what assistance his Department offers towards the cost of a Disclosure and Barring Service check for unemployed people moving into work.

Esther McVey: The cost of a Disclosure and Barring Service check is determined by the Home Office. The Department has made no assessment of the effects of the costs of a Disclosure and Barring Service check on the ability of unemployed people to move into work.
	The Department's view is that employers in the first instance should meet the costs of these checks; however, where they refuse to do so, Jobcentre Plus officials can, in exceptional circumstances, decide to reimburse the employer for the cost of the check.

Welfare State: Reform

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to paragraph 7, page 34 of 21st Century Welfare, Cm 7913, what recent assessment he has made of the scale of project required to make the 17 changes necessary to deliver a more integrated system; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey: The Department is committed to rolling out universal credit in a careful and controlled way.
	This is the right approach for such a large and complex change, and the plans we announced in July mean we will be testing universal credit in each region across the country. Claimants will also start to benefit from using the claimant commitment which will help bring about a cultural shift in taking a more active approach to searching for work.
	The roll-out of the claimant commitment for new claims to jobseekers' allowance started on 14 October.
	We will set out more details on our development plan later in the autumn.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations 2011

Dominic Raab: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what recent estimate she has made of the total cost to public bodies of implementing the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations 2011.

Helen Grant: On 27 June 2011, the Government published an impact assessment detailing the estimated costs of implementing the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations 2011 in England. This estimated costs to the public sector as a one-off 'familiarisation' cost of between £7 million and £9 million and annual recurring costs between £21 million and £26 million.
	The Government has recently conducted a review of the public sector equality duty and found little evidence of the costs or benefits and that a further review should be carried out in three years.

CABINET OFFICE

David Kelly

Julian Lewis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent assessment she has made of the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr David Kelly in 2003.

Francis Maude: There has been no recent assessment into the circumstances surrounding Dr David Kelly's death.

Security

Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many departmental identity cards or passes have been reported lost or stolen by staff in his Department since May 2010.

Francis Maude: The Department takes seriously any losses or thefts of ID security passes, All such incidents, which staff must report immediately, are fully investigated. Passes are deactivated when reported lost or stolen, to ensure our access control measures will not allow the passes to be used.
	Since May 2010 the Cabinet Office has recorded 139 passes as lost and 27 recorded as stolen. 55 of these were successfully recovered. The annual rate of losses is no higher than in years before the last general election.

Select Committee Reports

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether it remains the policy of the Government to respond to reports from Select Committees of the House within two months.

Francis Maude: Guidance to Departments and officials on responding to Select Committee reports can be found in the .document 'Guidance on departmental evidence and response to select committees', available at:
	www.gov.uk
	I wrote to my hon. Friend on 21 June regarding the delay in responding to a PASC report. We are currently undertaking a review of business appointments and, as I explained, we intend to respond to the Committee's recommendations once that is complete.

Youth Services

Ian Austin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of total Government funding for youth services in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what steps he is taking to provide support to youth services.

Nick Hurd: The Cabinet Office took over responsibility for youth policy from the Department of Education in July 2013.
	Since then I have commissioned a review of the quality and quantity of existing youth provision. This will be carried out in collaboration with sector partners and will be complete by the end of the year.
	The findings of this review will be used to inform future policy on youth services and will build on existing Cabinet Office initiatives including to:
	support youth services that are looking to spin-out into public service mutuals. These local authorities can access funded specialist support and expert advice from the Cabinet Office's £10 million Mutuals Support Programme.
	Several projects have already successfully applied for funded support, with many more in the pipeline:
	increase the scale of National Citizen Service, which offers young people the opportunity to take part in structured activities outside of school that provide them with key skills for work and life; and
	invest in the Campaign for Youth Social Action which aims to increase the quality and quantity of youth social action opportunities for young people aged between 10 and 20.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Carbon Emissions

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been spent by his Department on offsetting costs for energy-related carbon dioxide in the last year for which figures are available.

Brandon Lewis: The Department for Communities and Local Government does not offset its energy-related carbon emissions.
	However, the Department has, since 2009-10, saved the tax payer approximately £4.7 million per year through reduced energy consumption, lowering its operational greenhouse gas emissions by 41% or 9,798 tonnes.

Council Tax

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people were in arrears with their council tax in April (a) 2012 and (b) 2013.

Brandon Lewis: The Department does not collect data on the number of people who are in arrears with their council tax. For information on the value of uncollected council tax, I refer the right hon. Member to my answer of 10 October 2013, Official Report, columns 391-93W.
	I would observe, as I have pointed out to the right hon. Member in correspondence, the most recent official statistics published on 26 June show that in-year council tax arrears improved slightly in 2012-13 as a proportion of total council tax collectable in the year, by 0.03 percentage points. Collection rates in England increased in the last year from 97.3%, to 97.4%.
	For the current financial year, council tax collection is on the up. Official statistics published on 21 August show that £6.9 billion of council tax was collected in England over the first three months of 2013-14, This is 3.5% more than in the same period of the previous year, at a time when average Band D council tax rose by just 0.8%. It is also a larger percentage increase in the amount collected than in the same quarter from 2011-12 to 2012-13.

Council Tax

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people who are (a) paying council tax for the first time and (b) paying higher council tax as a result of the changes to council tax benefit introduced in April 2013 have received a court summons for non-payment to date.

Brandon Lewis: The Department for Communities and Local Government does not collect figures on the number of people who have been issued with court summonses by local authorities for non-payment of council tax.
	I would observe that according to figures collated by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, 3.0 million summons were issued for unpaid council tax across England in 2009-10; their most recent figures for 2011-12 published in August 2013 show that this figure has fallen slightly.
	I also refer the right hon. Member to the written statement of 18 June 2013, Official Report, column 27WS, which outlines how the coalition Government has tackled unreasonable and aggressive collection practices and which notes how the last Government broke its promises on taking action.

Council Tax Reduction Schemes

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what data arising from the changes to council tax benefit he has decided to collect to carry out the review of its effect as required by section 9 of the Local Government Finance Act 2012.

Brandon Lewis: We are currently working with local authorities to identify appropriate data sources for the review.

Housing

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people in (a) Ribble Valley constituency, (b) Lancashire and (c) the UK are housed in (i) local authority or housing association-owned property, (ii) privately rented property, (iii) shared ownership property and (iv) privately owned property.

Kris Hopkins: The Department publishes estimates each year on the number of households by tenure in England, through its annual English Housing Survey, which can be found here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/english-housing-survey-2011-to-2012-household-report
	In 2011-12. 3.8 million households in England were in the social rented sector (local authority or housing association); 3.8 million were in the private rented sector; and 14.4 million were owner occupied; this includes around 125,000 shared ownership properties. The Department does not produce parliamentary constituency or county estimates for England or United Kingdom figures.
	The Office for National Statistics publishes estimates from the 2011 Census for the number of households by tenure for local authority districts and counties in England and Wales, which are available online in table KS402EW at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/census/2011/index.html
	Estimates from the 2011 Census for the number of households by tenure for parliamentary constituencies in England and Wales can be found here:
	http://data.parliament.uk/resources/constituencystatistics/census2011/Census2011-ConstituencyProfile.xlsx
	These figures are only available for England and Wales.

Housing: Taxation

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will issue guidance to local authorities on exemptions from the (a) community infrastructure levy and (b) affordable housing levy for self-builders.

Nicholas Boles: Yes. Revised guidance on the community infrastructure levy will be published alongside the enactment of legislation amending the levy to make it a fairer and more transparent system, including exempting self build developments from the levy.
	The Government is currently considering how best to implement an exemption for self build in respect of Section 106 agreements (such as those for affordable housing contributions) and will make a further announcement in due course.

Local Government Finance

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local authorities do not overspend budgets.

Brandon Lewis: Councils are under a statutory duty to balance their budgets. They have a duty under section 28 of the Local Government Act 2003 to consider what action to take to remedy a budget overspend.

Satellite Broadcasting

Michael Dugher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what subscriptions his Department has for premium satellite television channels; and what the cost of each such subscription was in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Brandon Lewis: The Department for Communities and Local Government does not currently subscribe to any premium satellite television channels.
	By contrast, the Department under the last Administration spent £5,594 on premium Sky channels, which included television for the (now closed) Darts Bar.

Social Rented Housing

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department spent on new social housing for rent in (a) the City of York and (b) England in 2011-12; and how much it expects to spend for such purposes in each year of the Comprehensive Spending Review period.

Kris Hopkins: The Department's spending, through the Homes and Communities Agency's Affordable Homes Programme, on new affordable housing for rent in the city of York council's area was £2.3 million in 2011-12 and £4 million in 2012-13. This includes spending on new build and on acquisition and refurbishment.
	The Department's capital spending on housing, including new affordable housing in England in 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 is set out in its published Estimates at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/205103/Main_parliamentary_supply_estimates_2011-12.pdf
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/205092/Main_parliamentary_supply_estimates_2012-13.pdf
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/197752/dclg_mainsupplyestimates_201314.pdf
	Spending in 2014-15 will be set out in future published Estimates.
	£19.5 billion of public and private investment in affordable homes will deliver 170,000 homes in the four years to 2015 and up to a further 30,000 will be delivered by March 2017, supported by a share of the £10 billion Housing Guarantees and grant of £450 million.
	The spending round announced a further £3.3 billion of Government money, which, together with receipts from right to buy sales, will help lever up to £20 billion of private finance on top. This will provide a further 165,000 homes in the three years from 2015 to 2018.

Temporary Accommodation

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of families with children living in temporary accommodation in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in each of the last three years.

Kris Hopkins: holding answer 15 October 2013
	The information requested for Coventry and England is set out in the following table.
	As outlined in the written ministerial statement of 18 September 2012, Official Report, column 32WS, my Department no longer publishes statistics by Government office region. Local authority figures from which regional estimates for the former West Midlands Government office region can be calculated are also included in the table.
	
		
			 Households with children in temporary accommodation(1) 
			  Number as at 30 June 
			  2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 Local authorities in the former West Midlands Government OfficeRegion      
			 Birmingham 382 567 515 615 715 
			 Bromsgrove 8 6 15 17 21 
			 Cannock Chase 0 3 1 2 2 
			 Coventry 12 20 22 43 31 
			 Dudley 27 22 32 32 30 
			 East Staffordshire 2 1 3 1 5 
			 Herefordshire, County of 73 50 36 58 41 
			 Lichfield 12 10 12 17 7 
			 Malvern Hills 1 5 2 0 1 
			 Newcastle-under-Lyme 0 0 1 0 2 
			 North Warwickshire 0 0 1 1 2 
			 Nuneaton and Bedworth 4 9 6 15 11 
			 Redditch 7 4 9 13 11 
			 Rugby 0 9 5 5 17 
			 Sandwell 30 13 18 15 16 
			 Shropshire 51 43 50 49 25 
			 Solihull 15 22 27 27 31 
			 South Staffordshire 13 10 11 3 2 
			 Stafford 4 2 1 2 1 
			 Staffordshire Moorlands 9 11 15 14 3 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 5 1 7 5 8 
			 Stratford-on-Avon 16 19 14 13 19 
			 Tamworth 5 6 5 4 9 
			 Telford and Wrekin 51 44 41 42 32 
			 Walsall 22 20 14 22 33 
			 Warwick 11 6 10 15 14 
			 Wolverhampton 55 47 45 43 39 
			 Worcester 51 50 38 30 37 
			 Wychavon 9 14 21 18 5 
			 Wyre Forest 15 18 14 4 3 
			       
			 England(2) 45,940 37,940 35,950 39,490 43,090 
			 (1 )Includes expectant mothers with no other dependent children. (2 )England totals are rounded to the nearest 10, and published in DCLG Live Table 775. Source: Quarterly PIE returns from local authorities. 
		
	
	We want families with children to be able to live in secure and settled homes. That is why we have taken action to help local authorities move families quickly into settled accommodation. From 9 November 2012, local authorities have had a new power under the Localism Act to use good quality private rented sector accommodation to end the main homelessness duty. Families will no longer need to be placed in temporary accommodation while they wait for social housing to become available.
	At the same time, we have also put in place extra protection for the most vulnerable. The Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2012 helps prevent the use of temporary accommodation which is a long distance from the family's previous home and community.
	For households already in temporary accommodation the local authority has a duty (under section 193 of the Housing Act) to find that family settled accommodation. Local authorities should continue to work with these households to discuss alternative housing options as they become available.
	We are investing £470 million in homelessness prevention over four years of the spending review period—funding going to local authorities and the voluntary sector. We are continuing to support local authorities to raise their game with an additional £1.7 million for a new Gold Standard support and training scheme across the country to deliver the best possible service to those that are at risk of homelessness. This includes a commitment not to use Bed and Breakfast as a form of temporary accommodation for families.

Town and Country Planning Act 1990

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many Article 25 directions have been issued under the Town and Country Act 1990 in each month of the last year for which figures are available.

Nicholas Boles: The information requested is not available centrally.